IFE 


OF 


CharlesS.Parnell 


MP. 


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Wxtim 


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THE 


LIFE    AND    TIMES 


OF 


CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL. 

CONTAINING  A 

DETAILED   ACCOUNT    OF    HIS    ANCESTRY,    BIRTH, 
AND   EARLY   TRAINING. 

JOINS    THE   HOME   RULE    LEAGUE,  first  APPEARANCE   ON'  THE   POLITICAL 
STAGE,    THE    MEATS    BU  KD    ill-    ENTRY    IMu    RAEL1MENT, 

ALLIES    HIMSELF    WITH    JOE    BIGGAE    AM)    INAUGURATES    THE 
"OBSTRUCTION"    CA.Ml'AH.N,    Ills    VISIT    TO    THE    UNITED 
I  HE  BE  LBJBB  Of  THE  NATIONAL  ADDRESS, 
ADDRESSES     THE     HOUSE     OF      REPRESENTA- 
TIVES.  RETURNS   AND 

IS     ELECTED     FOR     CORK     CITY, 

PASSING  OF  THE  land  BILL,  PIOHT  AGAINST  coercion  and  EXPULSION  Of 
THE  IRISH  If  EMBERS,  SI  PRE8SION  OF  THE   LAND  i.eacce  and  IMPRISON- 
MENT   OF    MB.    PARNELL     AND    OTHER     LEADERS,    Tin:   "NO    RENT" 
MANIFESTO,  THE  KILMAINBAM    TREATY,   FIHENIX    PARK    TRAGEDY 
AND  Tin:  REPRESSION    LCT,  nil-:  ARREARS   act,  Tin.   LABOR] 
DWELLINGS  ACT,  DEFEAT  OF   THE   LIBERAL  MINISTRY.- 
ERAL  ELECTION  AND    TRIUMPH  Of  THE    NATIONAL    TARTY, 

THE  "  THREE  ACRES  and  a  cow."  OVERTHROW  Of  THE 

TORY  ADMINISTRATION.  INTRODUCTION    OF  HOME 

RILE     BY    GLADSTONE      His    GREAT    SPEECH, 

DIVISION     ON     THE     HOME    RULE     BILL 

JUNE   7TB,    1888. 

BY* 

THOMAS  SHERLOCK  and  J.  S.  MAHONEY. 


ILLUSTRATED   WITH  PORTRAITS  OF  THE  PROMINENT  IRISH 
MEMBERS  OF  PARLIMENT. 


NEW  YORK: 
MURPHY    AND     MCCARTHY, 

27  Warren  Street. 


I 


c: 


COPYRIGHT.  1381, 

By  MURPHY  &  MCCARTHY. 


THE    LIFE 

OF 

CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL,  M.P. 


Before   sketching   the  career  of  Mr.  Parnell 

from  his  birth  to  the  present  hour,  we  deem  it 
proper  to  give  some  account  of  the  sources 
whence  he  sprang.  It  will  be  found  that  on  the 
maternal  as  well  as  on  the  paternal  side  he  had  a 
distinguished  ancestry  ;  the  former  being  as  noted 
for  honest,  hearty  hate  of  English  oppression  and 
love  of  domination  as  the  latter  for  sincere  and 
practical  Irish  patriotism. 

The  story  we  have  to  tell  must  naturally  pos- 
sess a  powerful  interest  for  the  Irish  people  ;  but 
even  if  Charles  Stewart  Parnell  were  not  so  en- 
deared to  them  as  he  is,  the  record  would  have 
intrinsically  a  strong  attraction  for  every  reader, 
for  it  deals  with  a  number  of  people  eminent  or 
illustrious  in  their  day,  some  of  whom  played 
leading  parts  on  the  world's  great  stage,  and 
some,  again,  about  whose  lives  there  is  all  the 
brilliancy  of  romance.  In  this  latter  category 
stands  the  Irish-American  Admiral  Stewart, 
whose  daring  and  successful  exploits  on  the 
ocean,  iu  especial  against  the  British  in  the  war 
of  1812,  were  extraordinary,  and  whoso  splendid 

M128291 


4  0.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

career  will  be  traced  with  considerable  fulness  of 
detail  in  a  subsequent  paper.  Another  of  Mr. 
Parnell's  maternal  ancestors,  Judge  Tudor,  took 
a  stern  part  against  the  British  in  the  American 
war  of  independence ;  so  that  we  have  the  inter- 
esting fact  that  the  gallant  member  for  Meath  has 
in  his  veins  the  blood  of  men  who  fought  against 
England  in  the  two  wars  between  that  country 
and  the  United  States.  We  may  add  here  that 
the  facts  we  shall  set  down  will  be  drawn  from 
authentic  sources,  many  of  which  are  not  gener- 
ally available. 

Beginning  with  the  Parnells,  we  must  say  at  the 
outset  that  they  were  originally  an  English  family, 
settled  for  many  centuries  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Congleton  in  Cheshire.  Whatever  English 
prejudices  concerning  Ireland  they  may  have  had 
at  first  they  soon  lost ;  the  English  sympathies 
they  must  have  brought  with  them  in  the  begin- 
ning grew  more  and  more  modified  as  generation 
after  generation  intermarried  in  Ireland,  until  at 
length  the  family  obtained  renown  for  its  Irish 
patriotism. 

Strange  it  is,  but  true,  that  many  of  our  most 
honored  patriots  of  the  past — the  men  whose 
memory  the  Irish  people  will  ever  cherish  and 
reverence  —  sprang  originally  from  the  alien  race. 
They  saw  the  great  mass  of  the  people  ground 
into  powder,  and  at  the  same  time  cut  off  from 
their  natural  leaders  by  the  infamous  penal  laws ; 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  5 

and  with  generous  hearts  aflame  with  indignation 
they  sprang  to  the  front,  and  thought,  wrote, 
spoke,  fought,  and  died  in  the  effort  to  right  Ire- 
laud's  wrongs.  So  we  had  Tones  and  Emmets, 
Sheareses  and  Fitzgeralds,  leading  the  people, 
when  O'Briens  and  MaeCarthys,  Kavanaghs  and 
O'Neills  were  hidden  away  in  enforced  obscurity. 
Times  have  changed  since  then,  and  numbers  of 
men  of  the  old  race  have  taken  and  are  taking 
the  part  that  befits  them  in  the  front  rank  of  our 
political  life  ;  but  deep  down  in  Ireland's  grateful 
heart  —  rooted,  fixed,  immovable  —  is  the  passion- 
ate recollection  of  services  rendered  and  sacrifices 
made  in  her  cause  by  so  many  whose  ancestors  of 
a  few  generations  before  were  as  English  as  the 
towers  of  Windsor  Castle.  Never  again  will  it 
be  possible  to  create  disunion,  as  in  former  days, 
between  "the  old  Irish"  and  "the  new  Irish." 
The  unalterable  creed  of  our  people  is  the  creed 
so  well  preached  by  Thomas  Davis  :  — 

"  Yet  start  not,  Irish-born  man  — 
If  you're  to  Ireland  true, 
We  heed  not  blood,  nor  creed,  nor  clan — 
We  have  no  curse  for  you. 

"  And  oh !  it  were  a  gallant  deed 

To  show  before  mankind 
How  every  race  and  every  creed 

Might  be  by  love  combined  — 
Might  be  combined,  yet  not  forget 

The  fountains  whence  they  rose 
As  filled  by  many  a  rivulet 

The  stately  Shannon  flows." 


6  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

The  founder  of  the  Parnell  family  in  Ireland 
was  one  Thomas,  who  came  over  from  Cheshire 
about  the  time  of  the  restoration  of  the  Stuart 
dynasty  to  the  British  throne  in  the  person  of 
Charles  the  Second. 

Thomas  Parnell  bought  an  estate  in  the  Queen's 
County,  and  so  came  by  it  in  an  honester  way 
than  three-fourths  of  the  ancestors  of  the  present 
landed  proprietors  of  Ireland.  He  throve  on  this 
estate ;  his  affairs  prospered ;  and  he  gave  an 
excellent  education  to  his  two  sons,  John  and 
Thomas,  whom  he  respectively  devoted  to  law  and 
the  Church. 

John,  the  younger,  who  finally  came  into  the 
family  estates,  both  in  Ireland  and  England,  was 
a  man  of  ability  and  prominence  in  his  day.  He 
attained  a  seat  in  the  Court  of  Queen's  Bench,  and 
died,  leaving  behind  him  accumulated  property. 

The  parson  was  also  a  man  of  much  ability,  and 
enjoyed,  not  only  in  his  own  day,  but  even  up  to 
a  generation  ago,  considerable  renown  as  a  poet. 
He  was  also  a  scholar  and  a  wit.  He  was  born 
in  Dublin  in  1669,  and  educated  at  Trinity  Col- 
lege, where  he  took  his  degree  of  M.  A.  in  1700. 
Three  years  afterwards  he  was  ordained ;  and  in 
1705  he  received  the  appointment  of  Archdeacon 
of  Clogher.  But  his  predilections  leaned  more 
towards  literary  work  than  to  ministerial  duties, 
and  he  preferred  to  mingle  with  Swift  and  Addi- 
son, Steele,  Congreve,  and  Pope,  in  the  warm 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  7 

London  coffee-houses,  than  to  mumble  through 
written-out  homilies  in  the  cold  church  of  Clogher. 
Some  excuse  may  be  found  for  him,  however  ;  for, 
although  he  was  probably  never  reduced  to  the 
extremity  of  his  friend  Dean  Swift  at  Laracor, 
when,  unable  truthfully  to  begin  his  sermon  with 
the  formal  "Dearly  beloved  brethren,"  he  com- 
menced his  address  to  his  sole  listener,  the  parish 
clerk,  with  the  famous  "  Dearly  beloved  Roger," 
Parson  ParnelFs  congregation  must  of  necessity 
have  been  scanty.  So  in  Loudon  he  spent  much 
of  his  time,  writing  poems  of  a  highly  moral  ten- 
dency, as  befitted  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  occa- 
sionally trying  his  hand  at  prose,  but  more  often  # 
revelling  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  brilliant  conver- 
sation of  the  wits  with  whom  he  mixed. 

His  wife,  a  lady  celebrated  both  for  her  beauty 
and  her  amiability,  died  after  a  union  with  him  of 
but  seven  years.  He  never  recovered  from  the 
blow.  Thenceforth,  to  the  end  of  his  own  life,  he 
was  subject  to  fits  of  despondency,  and  generally 
shunned  the  gay  society  fn  which  formerly  he  had 
taken  such  keen  delight.  Dean  Swift  obtained 
for  him  the  living  of  Finglas,  near  Dublin,  and  so 
added  another  to  the  literary  attractions  and  mem- 
ories which,  through  Steele,  Addison,  Tickell, 
Sheridan,  Delany,  and  Swift  himself,  surround 
the  neighborhood  of  the  old  hamlet  of  Glasnevin. 

Dr.  Thomas  Parnell  died  at  a  comparatively 
early  age,  on  his  way  from  London  to  Ireland,  in 


8  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

the  ancient  city  of  Chester,  in  1717.  His  remains 
were  interred  in  one  of  the  churches  of  the  place 
of  his  death.  He  was  only  in  his  thirty-eighth 
year,  and  had  survived  his  wife  but  for  half  a  de- 
cade. He  had  issue ;  but  his  branch  of  the  Par- 
nell  family  soon  died  out.  Among  his  prose 
works  was  the  "Life  of  Homer"  which  was  pre- 
fixed to  the  poet  Pope's  translation  of  the  Iliad. 
Pope  held  Parnell  in  high  honor,  and  after  his 
death  edited  an  edition  of  his  poems.  Other 
poets  joined  in  applauding  him.  Oliver  Gold- 
smith wrote  of  him  that  "  his  language  is  the  lan- 
guage of  life,  conveying  the  warmest  thoughts  in 
.the  simplest  expressions."  The  Scotch  poet, 
Campbell,  still  more  laudatory,  says  of  Pamelas 
poetry  that" its  compass  is  not  extensive,  but  its 
tone  is  peculiarly  delightful,  from  the  graceful  and 
reserved  sensibility  that  accompanied  his  polished 
phraseology."  And  he  adds  :  "The  studied  hap- 
piness of  his  diction  does  not  spoil  its  simplicity. 
His  poetry  is  like  a  flower  that  has  been  trained 
and  planted  by  the  skill  of  the  gardener,  but 
which  preserves,  in  its  cultured  state,  the  natural 
fragrance  of  its  milder  air."  Even  Dr.  Johnson 
joined  in  the  chorus  of  praise,  saying  of  Parnell 
that  "  he  is  sprightly  without  effort,  and  always 
delights,  though  he  never  ravishes;"  and  further 
observes  concerning  some  of  his  poems  :  "  It  is 
impossible  to  say  whether  they  are  the  produc- 
tions of  nature  so  excellent  as  not  to  want  the 


0.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  9 

help  of  art,  or  of  art  so  refined  as  to  resemble 
nature."  With  this  brief  notice  we  must  be  con- 
tent to  part  from  the  one  bard  of  the  Parnell 
family. 

John,  the  judge,  was  more  fortunate  with  re- 
gard to  posterity  than  his  brother.  He  left  behind 
him  a  son  —  another  John  —  from  whom  descended 
a  line  of  illustrious  men.  First  there  was  this  lat- 
ter John,  who  sat  in  the  Irish  House  of  Commons 
as  member  for  Maryborough  for  several  successive 
Parliaments.  He  is  described  as  eea  man  of  great 
integrity  and  most  amiable  character."  The  *  great 
integrity"  was  undoubtedly  hereditary  in  the  fam- 
ily, as  we  shall  see;  the  "amiability*'  has  de- 
scended too,  with  this  difference  —  that  it  is  not 
unvarying  or  unalterable,  but  is  at  timed  con- 
sidered very  much  out  of  place,  more  especially 
in  the  British  House  of  Commons. 

John,  the  judge,  had  settled  at  Rathlengue  in 
Queen's  County ;  and,  as  previously  intimated, 
had  left  his  son  a  man  of  good  estate.  This 
latter,  the  member  for  Maryborough,  married  in 
1744  into  a  family  which,  if  names  are  to  be  re- 
lied on,  must  have  been  of  tolerably  pure  Gaelic 
blood.  His  spouse  was  Anne  Ward,  daughter 
of  Michael  Ward,  of  Castle  Ward,  county  Down. 
Those  Wards  were  by  no  means  ashamed  of  their 
Irish  name,  as  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  they  be- 
stowed it  on  their  residence.  The  Wards  of  Cas- 
tle Ward   were  people  of  consequence  in  their 


10  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

day ;  a  brother  of  Mrs.  Anne  Parnell  having  been 
created  Lord  Bangor.  Her  husband,  too,  — the 
"  man  of  great  integrity  "  —  must  have  been  a  man 
of  ability  also,  and  have  "done  the  State  some 
service,"  for  we  find  that  he  was  created  a  baronet 
in  the  year  1766,  and  was  thenceforth  entitled  to 
be  addressed  as  M  Sir  John." 

Sir  John  had  a  son,  also  christened  John,  con- 
cerning whom  more  must  be  said  than  of  his 
father.  While  the  father  sat  as  member  for  Mary- 
borough, the  son  entered  the  House  of  Commons 
in  Collegegreen  as  member  for  Bangor.  Both, 
in  fact,  were  striving  together  to  serve  their 
country  in  a  public  capacity  —  and  by  this  time 
the  Parnells  had  learned  to  think  no  country  in 
the  world  as  theirs  but  Ireland. 

The  son  was  a  remarkable  man.  He  had  a 
genuine  talent  for  business  ;  and  as  the  circum- 
stances of  the  family  forbade  its  exercise  in  the 
paths  of  commerce,  he  gave  the  full  benefit  of  it 
to  his  land.  In  public  speaking  he  never  at- 
tempted to  be  rhetorical ;  at  a  time  when  Irish 
Parliamentary  orators  sought  after  brilliant  pe- 
riods and  pointed  epigrams  and  flashing  images, 
this  John  Parnell,  of  whom  we  now  speak,  was 
content  to  say  out  his  thoughts  plainly,  without 
straining  after  ornament.  Wholly  unaffected  in 
feeling,  he  was  satisfied  with  "correct  language 
and  a  delivery  close  to  his  subject ; "  and  indeed 
seems  to  have  concerned  himself  more  with  the 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  11 

matter  than  the  manner  of  his  speeches  —  to  have 
been  more  solicitous  to  have  something  weighty 
to  say  than  as  to  the  way  in  which  he  said  it.  He 
is  described  as  being  a  man  of  "blunt  honesty, 
a  strong  discriminating  mind,  and  good  talents." 

His  father  —  the  ^man  of  great  integrity"  — 
died  in  the  year  of  the  declaration  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  Irish  Parliament,  1782,  and  left 
him  in  turn  "Sir  John."  This  second  Sir  John 
was  colonel  of  a  regiment  of  the  famous  Volun- 
teers of  '82,  and  at  a  very  early  stage  of  the  move- 
ment for  independence  both  himself  and  his  corps 
adopted  it  zealously  and  strenuously,  lb4  clung 
to  it  without  swerving  till  his  last  breath,  though 
he  had  the  misfortune  to  live  to  see  the  unforgiv- 
able crime  of  the  Union  accomplished.  After  the 
death  of  his  father  he  became  member  for  Queeu'd 
Count}',  for  which  he  was  elected  again  and  again 
until  the  extinction  of  the  native  Parliament  in 
which  he  had  labored  so  long  and  so  honestly. 

From  an  early  period  of  his  career  he  was 
selected  for  the  holding  of  office.  In  1780,  while 
yet  plain  John  Parnell,  he  was  appointed  a  com- 
missioner of  the  revenue  ;  he  was  made  a  privy 
councillor  in  178G  ;  and  in  1787,  when  the  Right 
Honorable  John  Foster — another  firm  opponent 
of  the  Union  —  vacated  the  post  of  Chancellor  of 
the  Exchequer  to  take  up  that  of  Speaker  of  the 
Irish  House  of  Commons,  Sir  John  Parnell  suc- 
ceeded him  in  the  Chancellorship.     In  this  posi- 


12  C.    S,    PARKELL,    M.  P. 

tion  he  took  an  honest,  independent  part  as  a 
member  of  the  Ministry,  and  devoted  himself  with 
zeal  to  the  furthering  of  practical  measures  to  for- 
ward the  prosperity  of  his  native  land.  He 
lightened  the  burden  of  taxation  on  the  people  ; 
he  limited  the  pension  list  so  that  the  Government 
were  hampered  in  buying  disgraceful  political  ser- 
vice at  the  expense  of  the  country ;  he  secured  a 
favorable  commercial  treaty  with  France  to  the 
great  advantage  of  Irish  trade  ;  and  he  promoted 
the  canal  system  at  home  for  the  better  develop- 
ment of  our  industrial  resources  —  very  creditable 
work  indeed  for  the  eleven  years  during  which  he 
held  the  seals  of  the  Chancellorship. 

He  seems  to  have  been  so  immersed  in  his  use- 
ful projects  as  not  to  have  given  requisite  care  to 
the  consideration  of  the  larger  and  wider  political 
principles  which  were  then  being  enunciated  in 
Ireland.  Fatal  fault !  Keform  would  have  saved 
our  Parliament,  yet  Sir  John  Parnell  continued  to 
hold  his  position  in  the  Ministry  that  refused  Ke- 
form, he  dreaming,  apparently,  that  inattention  to 
the  question  could  never  surely  pave  the  way  for 
the  overthrow  of  the  native  legislature  he  so  high- 
ly  prized.     He  was  destined  to  a  rude  awakening. 

After  the  collapse  of  '98,  when  the  country  lay 
bleeding,  bound,  and  helpless  at  the  feet  of  wicked, 
rampant,  and  unscrupulous  power,  Sir  John  Par- 
nell was  sent  for,  and  the  project  of  the  Union 
broached  to  him.     His  advice,  forsooth,  on  the 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  13 

question  was  first  requested.  He  gave  it  prompt- 
ly —  gave  it  firmly  —  gave  it  inflexibly.  It  would 
be  a  ruinous  measure  for  Ireland. 

The  villain  Castlereagh  was  much  concerned  at 
Sir  John's  attitude.  His  personal  influence  in  the 
House  of  Commons  was  great,  on  account  of  his 
admitted  honesty,  judgment,  and  talents.  His 
secession  from  the  Ministry  would  of  necessity 
weaken  it.  Besides,  he  represented  at  least  two 
unpurchasable  votes;  for,  having  married  early 
in  life  a  daughter  of  the  Right  Hon.  Arthur  Brooke, 
he  had  now  a  son,  Henry,  standing  beside  him  on 
the  floor  of  the  House  as  member  for  Maryborough, 
and  possessed  of  as  much  integrity  and  firmness 
of  purpose  as  any  of  his  predecessors.  Castle- 
reagh was  at  length  reduced  to  his  last  shift  with 
Sir  John  Parnell,  who  was  left  the  option  of  "re- 
vising his  opinions"  with  regard  to  the  destruction 
of  the  Irish  Parliament,  or  relinquishing  his  post 
with  its  honors  and  emoluments,  and  the  certain 
prospect  of  elevation  to  the  peerage  —  the  post, 
too,  in  which  he  had  already  been  enabled  to  do 
so  much  for  the  good  of  his  fellow-countrymen. 

It  was  not  in  the  nature  of  Sir  John  Parnell  to 
hesitate  before  such  a  choice.  He  honestly  believed 
a  free  legislature  to  be  necessary  for  Ireland's  weal, 
so  he  abandoned  his  office,  turned  his  back  on  its 
advantages,  crossed  the  floor  of  the  House,  and 
flung  himself  into  the  ranks  of  the  patriotic  Oppo- 


14  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

sition,  where  in  the  debates  on  the  Union  question 
he  did  effective  service. 

Sir  John  Parnell's  constituents  of  Queen's 
County  presented  him  with  an  address  approving 
of  his  conduct.  The  address  was  dated  the  18th 
Jauuary,  1799,  and  was  signed  on  behalf  of  the 
electors  by  the  high  sheriff  of  the  county.  In  it 
they  remarked  that  although  he  had  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Ministry  they  had  such  unbounded  con- 
fidence in  his  honor  that  they  did  not  hesitate  to 
elect  him  three  times  in  succession,  and  that  now 
he  had  proved  to  them  that  that  confidence  was 
justified.  In  his  reply  he  promised  to  continue 
his  opposition  to  the  Union  project  "  as  a  measure 
which  seems  to  me  more  likely  to  endanger  than 
to  give  strength  to  the  State "  —  the  State  that 
was  in  his  thoughts  being  Ireland  of  course.  He 
declined  to  allow  any  weight  to  the  arguments  in 
favor  of  the  Union  frequently  advanced  from  the 
legislative  union  between  Scotland  and  England. 
He  admitted  no  analogy  between  the  cases.  "Scot- 
land," he  said,  "in  respect  to  its  commerce,  was 
sure  of  advantages,  and  did  not  then  risk  an  ex- 
tensive trade  such  as  Ireland  possesses." 

The  merchants  and  traders  of  Dublin  city  — 
most  of  them  Orangemen,  be  it  remembered  — 
were  delighted  with  his  spirited  behavior ;  and 
they  too  approached  him  with  a  highly  compli- 
mentary address,  in  which  they  alluded  to  his  ex- 
pulsion from  the  Ministry.     In  reply  to  them  he 


C.    S.    PARNELL,  M.  P.  15 

said  with  quiet  dignity:  "As  to  my  personal 
situation  I  acquiesce  under  it  without  any  adverse 
feeling.  The  regards  of  the  most  respectable  and 
the  most  honorable  members  of  the  community  are 
a  better  foundation  of  honest  pride  than  rank  and 
emolument." 

The  Maryborough  yeomanry,  of  which  he  was 
captain,  "added  their  tribute  of  respect  and  con- 
gratulation," and  presented  him  with  a  sword  of 
honor,  "as  a  testimony,"  they  said,  "of  your  dig- 
nified and  independent  principles  and  conduct." 
He  told  them  in  return  that  he  would  be  proud  to 
wear  that  sword  in  defence  of  their  king,  "and  of 
his  kingdom  of  Ireland." 

To  the  last  Sir  John  Parnell  and  his  son  Henry 
actively  opposed  the  Union,  both  in  the  House  of 
Commons  and  elsewhere.  Others  who  began  on 
their  side  of  the  question  grew  weak  and  accepted 
bribes,  either  in  place,  pension  or  title,  until  the 
farce  of  carrying  the  odious  measure  by  a  pur- 
chased majority  was  gone  through  in  1800.  But, 
whoever  might  waver,  the  two  Parnells  would  not. 
They  stood  firm  and  unbending  to  the  end,  un- 
tempted  by  the  golden  showers  rained  from  the 
Treasury,  unallured  by  the  coronet  that  would 
gladly  have  been  offered  as  the  wages  of  degra- 
dation—  indeed  as  a  cheap  recompense  for  their 
betrayal  of  their  country. 

Sir  Jonah  Barrington  contributes  the  following 
testimony  to  Sir  John  Parneirs  character,  and  it 


16  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P 

is  all  the  higher  when  we  remember  how  at  that 
period  politicians  of  all  shades,  both  in  England 
and  Ireland,  strove  to  divert  as  much  as  possible 
of  the  public  revenue  into  the  pockets  of  them- 
selves or  their  relations:  "Though  many  yesrs 
in  possession  of  high  office  and  extensive  patron- 
age, he  showed  a  disinterestedness  almost  un- 
paralleled ;  and  the  name  of  a  relative  or  a 
dependent  of  his  own  scarcely  in  a  single  instance 
increased  the  place  or  the  pension  lists  of  Ireland." 
In  Grattan's  Life  his  character  is  described  thus  : 
"An  honest,  straightforward,  independent  man, 
possessed  of  considerable  ability  and  much  public 
spirit;  .  .  .  amiable  in  private,  mild  in  dispo- 
sition, but  firm  in  mind  and  purpose." 

After  the  Union  Sir  John  was  sent  to  the  Lon- 
don House  of  Commons  by  his  old  constituency, 
the  electors  of  the  Queen's  County.  But  he  did 
not  long  survive  his  country's  Parliament.  Death 
seized  him,  without  much  warning,  on  the  5th  De- 
cember, 1801,  in  London.  He  was  succeeded  in 
the  title  and  estates  by  his  son,  Henry,  whose 
career  was  also  a  very  distinguished  one,  and 
highly  honoring  to  himself.  He  entered  the 
British  Parliament  as  member  for  the  Queen's 
County  in  1802,  and  while  there  was  always  the 
staunch  friend  of  the  oppressed  Catholics. 

All  the  members  returned  to  the  London  Par- 
liament from  Ireland  —  even  those  who  had  been 
most  devoted  to  their  native  legislature,  and  who 


C.    S.    PARXELT,,    M.  r.  17 

had  striven  hardest  against  its  extinction  —  ac- 
cepted in  quiet  their  new  position.  Grattan  him- 
self, though  he  advised  his  countrymen  to  "keep 
knocking  at  the  Union"  in  the  hope  of  demolish- 
ing it,  never  dreamt  that  the  place  where  the 
hardest  knocks  of  all  could  be  given  was  in  the 
London  Parliament  itself.  It  never  occurred  to 
him  that  by  using  his  great  powers  towards  the 
hampering  of  every  proceeding  of  that  institution 
he  could  offer  to  the  British  only  a  choice  between 
the  disintegration  of  their  own  legislature,  or  the 
restoration  of  the  Irish  one.  Yet  nothing  seems 
more  likely  than  that  if  the  Irish  representation 
as  a  whole  had  behaved,  from  the  very  beginning 
in  1801,  as  a  foreign  substance  introduced  into  the 
imperial  body,  rankling  in  it  more  and  more  as 
time  went  on,  straitening  it  in  its  every  action, 
making  it  feel  sore  at  every  movement,  the  British 
would  very  soon  have  been  heartily  sick  of  the 
Union,  and  been  glad  to  submit  to  the  one  oper- 
ation that  alone  would  relieve  them  from  the 
inflaming  foreign  substance.  Of  course,  in  fol- 
lowing this  line,  the  Irish  members,  to  be  success- 
ful, should  have  acted  with  prudence  as  well  as 
firmness,  and,  while  availing  themselves  of  every 
Parliamentary  privilege,  should  have  been  careful 
to  keep  well  within  Parliamentary  rules;  but 
want  either  of  tact  or  of  courage  was  not  charac- 
teristic of  the  Irish  gentlemen  of  the  beginning 
of  the  present  century,  unless  the  records  of  the 


18  C.    S.    PARNELL,  M.  P. 

time  misrepresent  them  much.  Indeed,  it  re- 
quired no  greater  degree  of  those  qualities  to  be 
generally  antagonistic  and  troublesome  than  it  did 
to  face,  on  numerous  special  occasions,  the  angry 
demon  of  English  bigotry  on  the  Catholic  ques- 
tion ;  yet  several  Irish  members  did  so  face  it, 
and  among  them  one  of  the  foremost  was  Sir 
Henry  Parnell. 

Sir  Henry  Parnell's  instincts  and  convictions 
were  all  towards  liberal  ideas.  From  a  very  early 
period  of  his  career  he  espoused  the  cause  of  his 
downtrodden  Catholic  countrymen  with  the  ardor 
and  honesty  of  his  family.  His  pen  as  well  as 
his  voice  he  laboriously  exerted  in  their  behalf. 
It  is  hardly  possible  to  exaggerate  the  beneficial 
effect  on  the  cause  of  Emancipation,  produced  by 
his  "  History  of  the  Penal  Laws  "  and  his  "  His- 
torical Apology  for  the  Irish  Catholics."  A  Prot- 
estant himself,  and  one  whose  honor  and  disin- 
terestedness were  beyond  question  by  even  the 
most  malignant  bigot,  his  powerful  arrays  of  facts 
supporting  his  strong  arguments  must  have  con- 
verted many  a  sturdy  but  honest  foe  into  a  friend 
of  the  Catholic  claims.  In  the  British  House  of 
Commons  also,  he  took  every  opportunity  of 
speaking  on  behalf  of  his  Catholic  countrymen's 
rights.  He  was  the  constant  ally  of  Grattan  and 
Plunket  in  the  many  debates  raised  from  time  to 
time  on  the  Catholic  question  in  that  House. 
Every  one  knows  that  it  was  the  mass  of  the  Irish 


C.    8.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  19 

people  under  O'Connell,  who  in  the  end  overthrew 
the  stronghold  of  British  bigotry ;  yet  sight 
should  not  be  lost  of  the  fact  that  the  three  Irish 
Protestants  just  named,  in  conjunction  with  some 
others  and  some  liberal-minded  English  ones, 
made  the  first  sharp  assaults,  took  the  formidable 
outworks,  and  undermined  the  massive  walls. 
Though  the  details  of  their  efforts  be  not  now 
generally  remembered  —  though,  in  fact,  there  be 
tens  of  thousands  in  Ireland  who  have  never  even 
heard  of  their  endeavors  —  one  remarkable  conse- 
quence of  those  and  like  generous  efforts  unalter- 
ably remains.  There  is  no  office  of  trust  or 
honor  in  the  gift  of  Irish  Catholics  to  which  an 
Irish  Protestant  may  not  aspire,  in  the  full  con- 
fidence that  it  will  be  given  to  him  as  freely  as  if 
he  worshipped  in  the  same  temple  as  they,  pro- 
vided only  that  he  show  himself  a  true  Irishman. 
One  particular  hardship  pertaining  to  the  lot 
of  Irish  Catholics  excited  Sir  Henry  Parneirs 
deepest  pity  for  the  victims,  and  his  warmest  in- 
dignation against  the  intolerable  oppression  — 
the  tithe  system.  Pressed  to  the  very  earth  by 
the  exactions  of  his  landlord  —  often  reduced, 
after  all  his  unending  toil  from  year's  end  to 
year's  end,  to  subsist  on  a  scanty  portion  of  the 
humblest  fare,  to  live  in  a  hovel  not  a  whit  better 
than  a  pigsty,  and  to  clothe  himself  in  a  raiment 
of  tatters  such  as  the  ragman  would  not  touch 
with  his  crook,  much  less  put  into  his  bag  —  the 


20  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

peasant  had  still  to  support  in  idleness  and  lux- 
ury the  parson  whose  ministrations  he  utterly 
rejected,  and  whose  teachings  he  declined  with- 
out thanks.  The  parson,  on  his  part,  sought  his 
"tithes"  much  as  a  wolf  seeks  its  prey,  and  com- 
monly seemed  to  take  a  fiendish  pleasure  in  add- 
ing every  circumstance  of  aggravation  to  the 
collection  of  the  hateful  impost.  Sir  Henry  Par- 
nell  beheld  all  this,  and  his  heart  was  wrung  with 
compassion,  his  soul  was  moved  with  righteous 
wrath.  With  pains  and  labor  he  gathered  revolt- 
ing instances  of  the  shocking  oppressiveness  of 
the  tithe  exaction,  and  brought  them  before  the 
British  House  of  Commons.  He  exposed  the 
rapacity  of  numerous  clergymen  of  the  estab- 
lished Church  in  regard  to  tithes ;  held  up  to 
public  execration  the  diabolical  ingenuity  which, 
by  the  addition  of  legal  costs,  ran  up  the  sum  for 
which  the  peasant  was  liable  to  five  or  six  times 
its  original  amount ;  he  showed  the  monstrosity 
of  having  the  tithe-claimers  themselves  the  judges 
of  their  own  cases  against  the  peasantry  in  M  the 
bishop's  court ; "  and  denounced  the  glaring 
wickedness  of  parsons  like  the  one  who  dis- 
trained five  sheep  from  a  farmer  for  a  tithe  of 
five  shillings,  and  bought  them  in  himself  after- 
wards, under  the  distress,  for  a  shilling  apiece. 
As  with  Emancipation,  so  with  tithes — it  was 
the  Irish  people  themselves  who  overturned  the 
abominable  system  at  last ;  but  the  task  was  ren- 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  21 

clered  easier  for  them  by  Sir  Henry  Parncll ;  his 
battering  rams  had  shaken  the  citadel  of  iniquity 
to  its  foundations,  and  but  that  it  was  buttressed 
by  the  combined  aristocratic  and  ecclesiastic 
power  of  England  it  must  have  fallen  before  their 
shocks. 

Both  before  and  after  Emancipation  Sir  Henry 
was  in  general  politics  what  used  to  be  called  a 
Radical.  Taught,  probably,  by  his  experience  of 
the  Irish  Parliament,  he  was  devoted  to  reform 
of  the  English  one.  He  lived  to  become  a  peer 
of  Great  Britain  ;  but  all  his  life  he  was  heart 
and  soul  a  democrat,  lie  was  one  of  the  men 
who  are  said  to  be  in  advance  of  their  time,  hut 
whose  life-labors  are  nevertheless  fruitful  for 
those  who  come  after  them.  Among  the  projects 
he  advocated  in  the  British  House  of  Commons 
were  the  abolition  of  all  laws  restricting  either 
labor  or  capital,  including  the  abolition  of  the 
corn  lawrs  which  made  the  food  of  the  people 
dear  ;  the  removal  of  all  unequal  taxes,  and  the 
substitution  of  a  property  tax  ;  the  shortening  of 
the  term  for  which  members  of  Parliament  are 
elected,  so  that  constituencies  could  sooner  deal 
with  those  who  misrepresent  them  ;  an  extension 
of  the  franchise  ;  the  introduction  of  the  ballot 
for  the  protection  of  voters  from  intimidation  ; 
and  the  abolition  of  flogging  in  the  army  and 
navy,  and  of  impressment  in  the  latter.  Most  of 
these  projects  have  since  been  converted  into  the 


22  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

law  of  the  British  empire;  and  so  lately  as  1879 
Mr.  C.  S.  Parnell  carried  into  effect  one  of  the 
leading  ideas  of  his  far-seeing  and  reforming  rel- 
ative by  virtually  "killing  the  'cat.'" 

The  English  people,  as  well  as  the  Irish,  have 
much  for  which  to  thank  Mr.  C.  S.  Parnell ;  and 
the  case  is  exactly  like  with  Sir  Henry.  He  it 
was  who  opened  for  them  the  way  to  a  reform 
of  their  Parliament.  William  the  Fourth  came 
to  the  British  throne  in  the  August  of  1830. 
His  Prime  Minister  was  the  Duke  of  Wellington ; 
his  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  Sir  Robert  Peel. 
On  the  12th  of  November  Sir  Henry  Parnell 
moved  a  resolution — "That  a  select  committee 
shall  be  appointed  to  take  into  consideration  the 
estimates  and  amounts  proposed  by  command  of 
his  Majesty  regarding  the  Civil  List."  As  a 
lively  English  writer  says :  "  The  Civil  List  is  a 
list  of  all  the  revenues  of  the  Crown — the  income 
of  the  king  in  fact.  And  here  scarcely  had  his 
Majesty  got  warm  in  his  seat  when  this  audacious 
man  proposed  to  overhaul  it.  His  Majesty  was 
wrathful,  and  ordered  his  Ministers  to  oppose 
this  daring  proposal  with  all  their  might.  Aud 
this,  we  may  be  sure,  was  done.  But,  lo  !  when 
the  division  came  off,  Sir  Henry  found  that  he 
had  beaten  the  Government  by  a  majority  of 
-twenty-nine.  That  was  a  very  great  thing  to  do. 
But  mark  what  came  of  it.  The  Government 
resigned;    the  reign  of  Toryism  —  that  'anarchy 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  23 

old'  —  was  overthrown  at  last;  and  the  way  was 
opened  for  Earl  Grey  and  Reform.  This  opened 
a  new  era."  It  opened  a  new  era  for  Sir  Henry 
Parnell  himself  also ;  for  he  was  made  Secretary 
for  War  in  Lord  Grey's  Government,  and  Pay- 
master-General of  the  Forces  in  Lord  Mel- 
burne's.  After  thirty-nine  years  of  membership 
in  the  House  of  Commons  he  was  transferred  to 
the  Lords  under  the  style  and  title  of  Baron  Con- 
gleton.  Mental  overwork  and  illness  brought  on 
delirium,  in  1842;  and  on  the  eighth  of  June  in 
that  year,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five,  while  insanity 
obscured  his  reason,  he  unfortuuately  killed  him- 
self. He  left  a  son,  the  second  Baron  Congleton, 
who  has  at  least  the  merit  of  voting  in  favor  of 
liberal  measures. 

Sir  Henry,  like  his  father,  had  no  pretensions 
to  oratorical  power;  but  he  was  admittedly  an 
excellent  debater.  He  is  described  towards  the 
close  of  his  career  as  "of  the  middle  size,  rather 
inclining  to  stoutness  ;  his  complexion  is  fair  ;  his 
features  are  regular,  with  a  mild  expression  about 
them  ;  and  his  hair  is  pure  white." 

Besides  Sir  Henry,  Sir  John  Parnell  left  a  son, 
William,  who  was  content  to  live  the  life  of  a 
plain  country  gentleman,  possessed  of  ample  for- 
tune. He  had  a  son,  named,  after  his  distinguished 
grandfather  and  uncle,  John  Henry ;  and  of  this 
John  Henry  Parnell  Mr.  Charles  Stewart  Par- 
nell, M.P.,  is  the  fourth  son. 


24  C.    8.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

Though  this  branch  of  the  Parnell  family  was 
the  younger,  it  was  well  endowed  with  worldly 
means,  and  had  near  aristocratic  connections. 
Neither  William  nor  John  Henry  was  distinguished 
in  the  political  world  ;  but  tradition  says  that  as 
landlords  their  relations  with  their  tenantry  were 
of  the  most  satisfactory  kind.  They  would  seem, 
too,  to  have  cherished  some  pride  in  connection 
with  the  era  of  Irish  independence,  to  judge  from 
the  care  with  which  certain  flags  of  the  Volunteers 
of  '82  have  been  handed  down  — flags  which  at 
present  grace  C.  S.  Parnell's  mansion  of  Avon- 
dale,  near  Kathdrum,  county  Wicklow. 
»  One  of  these  most  interesting  relics  of  a  glori- 
ous episode  in  Irish  history  is  a  cavalry  ensign, 
of  thick  silk,  richly  ornamented  on  both  sides. 
In  shape  it  is  of  the  kind  known  as  a  burgee  — 
that  is,  an  oblong  flag  with  a  trangular  piece  taken 
from  its  outer  edge.  On  one  side  the  color  of  the 
ensign  is  red,  and  on  the  other  yellow.  Its  di- 
mensions are  three  feet  by  two.  In  a  centre- 
piece on  one  side  appears  a  dog,  with,  divided 
above  and  below  it,  the  inscription,  "Velox  et 
acer  —  et  lidelis  amicis,"  which  means,  "Swift 
and  sharp  —  and  faithful  to  friends. "  Divided 
above  and  below  the  border  of  the  centre-piece  is 
the  further  inscription,  "Independent  Wicklow 
—  Fors.  Lt.  Drags.";  which  last  we  take  to  rep- 
resent "Foresters'  Light  Dragoons."  On  the  ob- 
verse is  an  oval  centre-piece  depicting  a  harp  with 


0.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  25 

crown  surmounting  a  massive  castellated  structure  ; 
and  fitted  into  the  corners  —  a  word  iu  each  —  the 
following  :  "  July  —  Anno  —  Dom  — 1779,"  show- 
ing the  date  at  which  the  Independent  Wicklow 
Foresters'  Light  Dragoons  were  embodied.  A 
similar  device  to  this  obverse  one  is  painted  on, 
not  worked  into,  the  other  flag,  which  is  a  large 
infantry  ensign  of  thin  silk,  now  unfortunately 
giving  way  before  the  ravages  of  time. 

John  Henry  Parnell,  when  a  young  man,  went 
about  seeing  the  world  with  his  cousin  Lord 
Powcrscourt;  and  while  travelling  in  America  he 
met,  at  Washington,  the  daughter  of  Admiral 
Stewart,  of  the  American  navy.  He  made  her 
acquaintance;  they  became  intimate;  an  attach- 
ment sprang  up  between  them  ;  and  after  a  while 
the  aristocratically  connected  young  Irishman 
took  to  wife  the  daughter  of  the  old  republican 
sea- warrior.  The  marriage  was  solemnized  in 
New  York.  By  this  step  John  Henry  Parnell 
brought  into  the  family  the  blood  of  two  men  who 
had  dared  death  in  mortal  combat  with  the  British 
forces,  and  who,  we  may  be  sure,  had  trans- 
mitted to  their  offspring  little  love  of  the  power 
whom  they  had  considered  it  a  duty  and  an  honor 
to  oppose  even  to  the  shedding  of  blood.  A  man's 
marriage  is  often  the  most  momentous  action  of 
his  own  life.  In  the  case  of  John  Henry  Parnell 
it  was  large  in  its  consequences  to  Great  Britain 
as  well  as  to  Ireland  ;  for  the  issue  of  his  marriage 


26  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

was  five  sons  and  six  daughters  ;  among  those  sons 
was  the  present  virtual  leader  of  the  Irish  people, 
and  if  the  land  question  of  Ireland  bids  fair  to  get 
a  satisfactory  settlement  largely  through  his  guid- 
ance, the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  has  received 
at  his  hands  a  shock  to  its  traditions  from  which 
it  can  but  slowly  recover,  if  indeed  it  ever  do  re- 
cover at  all. 

At  this  stage  of  our  record  we  shall  leave  the 
Parnells  for  a  while,  and  turn  to  Charles  Stewart 
ParnelPs  maternal  ancestry.  We  shall  find  in 
their  history  many  facts  of  deep  interest. 

More  than  a  century  ago,  a  Mr.  Stewart,  of 
Belfast,  who  was  married  to  a  lady  whose  maiden 
name  was  Sarah  Ford,  left  Ireland  in  deep  disgust 
with  the  state  of  affairs  there,  and  determined  to 
settle  in  what  were  then  called  the  British  colonies 
in  North  America,  but  which  are  now  infinitely 
better  known  to  all  the  world  as  the  United  States. 
The  Fords,  wre  need  hardly  observe,  were  origi- 
nally a  Connaught  clan,  and  of  as  pure  Milesian 
blood  as  any  in  Ireland.  A  great  number  of 
Northern  Irishmen  emigrated  to  America  like  Mr. 
StewTart  about  that  period,  and  one  and  all,  as 
even  Mr.  Froude  admits,  bore  with  them  a  burn- 
ing hate  of  English  misgovernment. 

After  the  Irish  fashion,  the  Stewarts  had  a  large 
family.  On  the  28th  of  July,  1778,  the  youngest 
of  eight  children,  a  sou,  was  born  to  them  in 
Philadelphia,  but  a  few  weeks  over  two  years  sub- 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  27 

sequent  to  the  famous  "Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence. "  This  son  of  Irish  parents,  overflowing  with 
the  vitality  of  the  eternal  Celtic  race  from  which 
he  drew  his  origin,  lived  to  become  one  of  the 
great  naval  heroes  of  history,  had  a  career  which 
cannot  be  described  as  anything  less  than  roman- 
tic ;  and  died  after  bearing  for  seven  years  the 
title  of  "admiral"  —  he  being  the  very  first  on 
whom  that  title  was  conferred  in  the  navy  of  the 
United  States.  Previous  to  1862  the  designation 
of  the  highest  rank  in  that  navy  was  "commo- 
dore;" and  Admiral  Stewart  had  been  so  dubbed 
formally  for  a  great  many  years.  He  was  the 
maternal  grandfather  of  Charles  Stewart  Parnell. 
We  mean  to  record  bis  career  with  some  detail  ; 
but  for  the  sake  of  clearness  in  the  general  narra- 
tive we  shall  leave  him  for  a  little  while,  and  turn 
for  a  moment  to  another  branch  of  C.  S.  Parncll's 
maternal  ancestry. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  American  war  of  inde- 
pendence there  was  settled  in  Boston  a  young 
lawyer  whose  name  was  Tudor.  A  very  English 
name,  every  reader  will  exclaim  who  remembers 
that  it  was  the  family  name  of  the  infamous  mon- 
arch, Henry  the  Eighth  of  England.  A  very 
English  name  it  was,  in  truth.  But  Englishmen 
had  been  driven  from  their  own  land  by  govern- 
mental persecution  just  as  Irishmen  had  been  ; 
all  who  entertained  ideas  of  liberty,  whether  in 
the  civil  or  religious  domain,  were  obnoxious  to 


28  C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P. 

the  powers  that  were.  So  it  came  to  pass  that 
hosts  of  English  colonists  brought  with  them 
from  their  own  to  American  shores  an  abiding 
sense  of  wrong,  and  a  firm  determination  to  resist 
any  encroachments  of  the  home  government  on 
their  new-found  liberties.  Therefore,  when  this 
English-descended  lawyer  found  the  colonists 
ready  to  take  up  arms  for  freedom's  sake,  he  was, 
like  the  Irish-descended  lawyer,  John  Sullivan, 
one  of  the  first  to  declare  for  it.  He  joined  the 
army  of  the  immortal  Washington,  and  went 
through  all  the  perils  of  the  revolutionary  war. 

In  doing  so,  besides  risking  life  and  limb, 
Tudor  sacrificed  his  tenderest  feelings  for  what  he 
was  convinced  was  his  duty.  He  was  ardently 
attached  to  a  young  lady  whose  people  were  de- 
voted adherents  of  the  British  cause.  They  were 
engaged  to  be  married  when  the  civil  commotion 
arose.  It  opposed  a  barrier  to  their  union,  which 
would  not  be  allowed  because  forsooth  he  was  a 
"rebel"  to  the  British  Government.  He  went  on 
fighting  against  that  Government  as  if  he  were 
wholly  indifferent  on  the  subject  of  the  marriage  ; 
but  after  five  years,  when  success  was  smiling  on 
the  cause  of  the  insurgents,  it  was  conveyed  to 
him  that  all  objections  would  be  withdrawn. 
There  are  many  men  who,  under  like  circum- 
stances, would  have  exhibited  the  obstinacy  of 
wounded  vanity ;  but  Mr.  Tudor  loved  his  sweet- 
heart for  her  gracious  self,  not  for  her   political 


C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P.  29 

notions — whether  they  happened  to  be  what  he 
thought  right  or  wrong — so  he  gladly  espoused 
her  after  their  long  separation. 

The  spirit  of  Judge  Tudor  was  communicated 
to  his  offspring;  and  when,  after  a  generation, 
the  rebellious  stream  of  the  Tudor  blood  was 
mingled  with  the  fiery,  indignant  stream  of  the 
Stewarts',  the  mixture  was  not  of  a  kind  very 
susceptible  to  impressions  favoring  the  notion 
that  the  inhabitants  of  England  are  a  heaven- 
ordained  governing  race. 

Admiral  Stewart's  father  had  been  the  master 
of  an  American  merchant  vessel.  In  less  than 
two  years  after  the  birth  of  his  youngest  child, 
Charles,  he  died.  The  revolutionary  war  was 
still  being  actively  waged,  with  the  natural  result 
of  damaging  almost  every  commercial  interest  in 
the  country.  Mrs.  Stewarts  resources  were 
crippled  like  those  of  the  mass  of  her  fellow- 
citizens  ;  and  in  these  circumstances  it  was  no 
easy  matter  for  the  widow  to  rear  and  educate 
eight  children.  But  this  daughter  of  the  Fords, 
who  is  said  to  have  been  a  woman  of  talent  and 
great  energy,  accomplished  her  task  single- 
handed  for  several  years.  Eventually  she  gave 
her  children  a  step-father  in  the  person  of  Captain 
Britton,  who  was  a  member  of  Congress,  an  inti- 
mate friend  of  Washington,  and  the  commander 
of  the  body-guard  of  that  most  illustrious  because 
most  unselfish    of    successful    soldiers.     Captain 


30  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

Britton  was  fond  of  young  Charles  Stewart,  took 
him  about  with  him,  and  on  one  occasion,  in  the 
presence  of  both  Houses  of  Congress,  introduced 
the  boy,  when  he  was  about  the  age  of  twelve,  to 
Washington  himself.  The  incident  made  a  deep 
impression  on  the  youngster's  mind.  Even  in  his 
old  age  he  was  fond  of  recalling  it,  and  used  to 
speak  with  glee  of  the  effect  it  had  on  his  Phila- 
delphian  playfellows.  "Not  one  of  them,"  he 
would  say,  "dared  knock  a  chip  off  my  shoulder 
after  that." 

Charley  was  a  wild,  courageous  boy,  and  cher- 
ished from  an  early  age  a  positive  passion  for  the 
sea.  It  would  appear  as  though  his  naval  aspira- 
tions were  discouraged  in  the  home  circle ;  for 
about  the  age  of  thirteen  he  gave  his  friends  the 
slip,  ran  away  from  school,  and  began  his  eareer  on 
the  ocean — a  career  destined  to  be  so  glorious — in 
the  very  humble  capacity  of  cabin  boy  on  board  a 
merchant  vessel.  Just  two  years  afterwards  he 
was  near  losing  his  life  at  the  hands  of  a  leader  of 
the  negro  insurgents  of  Hayti  —  namely,  Chris- 
tophe,  who  afterwards  became  king  of  the  Island. 
Christophe  had  been  a  slave  and  a  tavern-cook ; 
but  when  the  insurrection  broke  out  against  the 
French  in  San  Domingo  he  joined  the  insurgents, 
and  partly  on  account  of  his  enormous  stature 
and  great  strength,  partly  by  reason  of  his  reck- 
less daring  and  abundant  energy,  soon  rose  to  a 
position  of  high    command.     We  append  a  de- 


C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P.  31 

scription  of  the  incident  above  referred  to,  taken 
from  an  old  Life  of  Stewart :  — 

"The  Loraine,  owned  by  Britton  and  Masse}-,  of 
Philadelphia,  and  commanded  by  Captain  Church, 
came  to  anchor  at  St.  Domingo,  in  1793,  just  at  the 
time  of  the  insurrection.  Charles  Stewart  was  on 
board,  still  at  the  lowest  round  of  the  sailor's  ladder, 
for  he  was  only  fifteen  }Tears  old  and  had  been  but  two 
years  at  sea.  One  day,  Christophe,  a  leader  of  the 
insurrectionists,  came  alongside  In  a  row-boat,  with 
several  of  his  sable  followers.  The  l  citizen-general' 
was  attired  in  the  elegant  uniform  of  a  French  officer, 
which  illy  accorded  with  his  ungainly  carriage  and  bare 
black  feet.  Two  of  the  teeth  of  his  lower  jaw  pro- 
truded like  the  tusks  of  an  animal,  and  added  to  the 
incongruous  and  grotesque  effect.  The  awkward  row- 
ing of  the  natives,  together  with  the  comical  appear- 
ance of  the  magnate,  were  too  much  for  Charley. 
When  Christophe  asked  him  to  throw  him  something 
by  which  to  ascend  the  side  of  the  ship,  a  spirit  of 
deviltry  seized  the  lad,  and  instead  of  tossing  the  rope 
to  the  visitor,  he  shook  it  in  his  face,  and  burst  into  a 
laugh. 

"In  an  instant  Charley  realized  the  extent  of  his 
offence,  and,  fearing  vengeance,  ran  towards  the  cabin 
for  protection.  The  commodore  alwa}Ts  said,  in  telling 
this  story,  that  while  on  his  way  to  the  cabin  'some- 
thing told  him'  that  if  he  went  there  it  would  cost  him 
his  life.  He  at  once  changed  his  course,  hurried  to  the 
place  where  the  cook  kept  his  wood,  opened  the  trap- 
door, and  jumping  into  the  hole,  replaced  the  cover 
and  shoved  a  stick  through  the  ring,  so  that  the  door 


32  C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P. 

could  not  be  opened  from  above.  He  had  not  been 
there  many  minutes  when  he  heard  Christophe  and  his 
men  searching  for  him  overhead. 

"  It  seems  that  the  blacks  finally  succeeded  in  getting 
on  board,  the  leader  blind  with  rage.  He  demanded 
that  that  '  white-headed  boy '  should  be  given  up  to 
him  immediately,  and  swore  that  he  would  have  the 
fellow's  life.  Captain  Church  was  not  sufficiently  pro- 
vided with  arms  to  prevent  violence,  and  pretended  to 
aid  him  in  his  quest,  after  having  failed  to  convince 
him  that  the  lad  had  jumped  overboard  and  swam  to  a 
French  vessel  which  was  lying  not  far  off.  Every  por- 
tion of  the  Loraine  was  searched,  and  the  sailors  were 
even  compelled  to  shift  a  part  of  the  cargo  in  the  hold. 

"  At  last  Christophe  caught  sight  of  the  trap-door, 
beneath  which  the  boy  was  lying  in  a  state  of  fearful 
suspense.  The  moment  the  sailors  found  that  this  had 
been  fastened  from  beneath,  they  knew  that  Charley  must 
have  made  here  his  hiding-place,  and  .they  swore  still 
more  stoutly  that  he  had  swam  to  the  French  vessel. 
They  exerted  themselves,  however,  in  fruitless  mock 
efforts  to  lift  the  door ;  but  Christophe,  not  satisfied, 
thrust  his  sword  down  on  every  side,  the  blade  just 
escaping  young  Stewart,  who  cuddled  himself  up  into 
small  space  in  the  centre. 

"  At  last  the  search  was  given  up,  and  the  captain,  in 
order  to  appease  Christophe,  made  him  the  magnificent 
present  of  a  pair  of  stockings.  These  pleased  the 
savage  so  that  he  fairly  danced  with  delight ;  his  good 
humor  was  still  further  augmented  by  the  gift  of  a  pair 
of  shoes.  The  fellow  finally  got  drunk  on  their  liquors, 
supplied  without  stint,  and  in  this  condition  they  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  rid  of  a  most  unwelcome  guest. 


C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P.  33 

u  A  week  or  two  after  this  adventure  —  the  ship  still 
remaining  at  St.  Domingo,  as  it  was  found  difficult  to 
dispose  of  the  cargo  in  consequence  of  the  disturbed 
state  of  affairs — young  Stewart  resolved  to  venture 
ashore.  The  captain  gave  him  permission,  at  the  same 
time  warning  him  of  his  danger.  But  Stewart  thought 
that,  as  Christophe  had  only  seen  his  white  head,  he 
could  easily  disguise  himself  so  that  he  would  not 
recognize  him.  Accordingly  he  put  on  a  different  rig, 
and  pulled  his  hat  over  his  eyes  so  as  to  hide  his  silver- 
colored  hair. 

"The  very  first  man  he  met,  in  sauntering  up  the 
street,  was  Christophe  —  French  uniform,  sword,  pis- 
tols, musket,  tusks,  and  all.  We  may  be  sure  that  the 
little  fellow's  heart  sank  within  him,  and  that  his  first 
impulse  was  to  take  to  his  heels.  But  the  boy's  char- 
acteristic presence  of  mind  and  coolness  in  the  face  of 
danger  saved  his  life.  Carelessly  whistling  a  tune,  he 
kept  on  steadily,  and  in  passing  Christophe  his  clothes 
actualty  brushed  against  him.  He  felt  that  the  savage 
had  his  eye  fixed  upon  him  suspiciously ;  and  after 
passing  him  heard  with  affright  the  click  caused  by  the 
cocking  of  a  musket.  The  boy  still  moved  on  slowly, 
and  apparently  with  the  utmost  unconsciousness  ;  but 
turning  the  first  corner,  he  scampered  down  a  side 
street  as  fast  as  his  legs  could  carry  him.  The  rest  of 
the  day  he  lay  hidden  in  the  mountains,  returning  after 
dark  to  shore,  and  finding  means  to  make  his  way 
back  to  the  ship." 

Rut  if  Charley  Stewart  at  the  age  of  fifteen  was 
still  only  at  the  foot  of  the  seaman's  ladder,  he  did 
not  long  remain  so.     Before  he  was  yet  twenty  he 


34  C.    S.    PARNELL,  M.  P. 

had  risen,  step  by  step,  through  every  grade  of 
the  merchant  service,  to  the  command  of  an  India- 
man —  a  position  almost  unparalleled  at  so  early  an 
age.  Still  Charles  Stewart  was  not  content.  He 
wished  to  devote  himself  to  his  country's  service ; 
for  the  French  had  made  certain  demands  regard- 
ing rights  of  search  and  of  capture  of  American 
vessels  which  the  Government  could  not  but  with- 
stand, and  the  two  republics  were  on  the  verge  of 
war.  Therefore,  Charles  Stewart  sought  and 
found  admission  to  his  country's  armed  navy,  and 
on  the  9th  of  March,  1798,  he  was  duly  commis- 
sioned a  lieutenant  of  the  frigate  United  Stales 
commanded  by  the  gallant  Wexford  man,  Com- 
modore John  Barry,  whose  business  it  was  to  put 
an  end  to  the  depredations  of  French  privateers 
on  American  commerce  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  West  Indies. 

In  little  more  than  two  years  —  to  wit,  on  the 
16th  of  July,  1800  —  the  young  lieutenant  re- 
ceived an  independent  command  in  the  schooner 
Experiment,  fourteen  guns.  His  cruising  ground, 
was  still  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  West  Indies. 
He  had  now  the  opportunity  of  distinguishing 
himself,  and  he  hastened  to  avail   himself  of  it. 

From  a  sketch  of  his  life  we  copy  the  following 
summary  of  his  brilliant  exploits  in  the  Experi- 
ment: — 

"On  the  night  of  the  first  of  September  he  fell  in 
with,  and,  after  an  action  of  ten  minutes,  captured  the 


C.    S.   PARNELL,   M.  P.  35 

French  schooner,  Deux  Amis,  of  eight  guns,  which  he 
sent  home  for  condemnation.  While  watering  in  Prince 
Rupert's  Bay,  in  the  island  of  Dominica,  two  British 
sloops  of  twenty  guns  each  arrived,  one  having  an 
American  named  Amos  Seeley  impressed  among  its 
crew.  Seeley  wrote  to  Stewart  imploring  his  help. 
He  at  once  opened  a  characteristic  correspondence  with 
the  British  captain,  demanding  the  release  of  the 
American,  and  in  a  personal  interview  writh  the  officer 
used  such  logic  as  to  induce  him,  although  with  reluc- 
tance, to  eompl}\  While  cruising  at  daylight,  on  the 
13th  of  September,  two  sails  were  discovered,  bearing 
down  on  the  Experiment,  with  the  English  colors  flying. 
The  Experiment  was  laying  to  with  the  British  signal 
of  the  da}r  flying.  As  they  refused  to  answer  his  signal, 
and  proved  to  be  a  brig  of  eight  guns  and  a  schooner 
of  fourteen,  Stewart  determined  to  try  the  sailing 
qualities  of  the  vessels.  Discovering  the  Experiment 
could  outsail  them,  they  abandoned  the  chase,  running 
up  the  French  flag,  and  firing  a  gun  of  defiance  to  wind- 
ward. Stewart  immediately  tacked  ship  and  worked  to 
windward,  and  gaining  the  gauge  on  them  in  turn  be- 
came the  pursuer.  About  three  o'clock  in  the  evening 
she  ranged  up  on  the  larboard  quarter  of  the  stern 
most  one  and  poured  a  broadside  into  her.  In  a  few 
minutes  the  schooner  struck  and  surrendered  to  the 
Experiment.  She  proved  to  be  the  French  schooner 
Diana.,  on  board  of  which  were  a  lieutenant  and  a  de- 
tachment of  thirty  invalid  soldiers,  a  crew  of  sixty- 
five  men,  and  General  Rigaud  on  his  way  to  France. 
Stewart  immediately  started  after  the  brig,  but  she  had 
got  safe  beyond  his  reach.  After  disposing  of  his 
prisoners  at  St.  Christopher,  Lieutenant  Stewart  did 


36  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

valuable  service  in  protecting  American  commerce  in 
those  seas. 

uOn  the  16th  of  November,  at  midnight,  he  fell  in 
with  an  armed  vessel,  which  refused  to  answer  his  hail. 
After  repeated  efforts  to  learn  the  character  of  the 
stranger,  he  sent  a  shot  into  her,  which  was  answered 
by  a  broadside.  A  running  fight  of  forty  minutes  en- 
sued, when  the  unknown  struck.  She  proved  to  be  a 
privateer  of  Bermuda,  carrying  eight  guns.  She  was 
much  cut  up  in  her  rigging,  and  had  two  shots  through 
her  bottom.  Stewart  lay  by  all  next  day  assisting  in 
the  repair  of  her  damages. 

"The  Experiment  being  ordered  home,  Lieutenant 
Stewart  on  the  voyage  rescued  sixty-seven  persons 
from  a  reef  off  Saona  Island,  and  carried  them  to  their 
homes  in  St.  Domingo,  the  Government  of  which  island 
wrote  a  warm  letter  of  thanks  to  President  Jefferson." 

A  reduction  of  the  navy  was  carried  out  by  the 
Government  in  1801,  when  only  thirty-six  out  of 
the  whole  body  of  lieutenants  were  retained  in 
the  service.  Of  these  thirty-six  Charles  Stewart 
was  one.  He  lost  his  independent  command, 
however,  being  appointed  first  officer  in  the  frig- 
ate Constellation  in  1802.  When  the  vessel  re- 
turned from  her  cruise,  the  war  with  Tripoli  was 
afoot.  In  times  of  strife  men  like  Stewart  are 
properly  valued  in  every  navy.  This  was  espec- 
ially the  case  in  the  infant  one  of  the  United 
States.  Stewart  was  at  once  appointed  to  the 
command  of  a  newr  war-brig,  the  Siren,  carrying 
sixteen   guns,  and  ordered  forthwith   to  join  the 


C.    S.    PARNELL,  M.  P.  37 

squadron  off  the  coast  of  Barbary.  Here  he  was 
employed  blockading  Tripoli  and  the  harbors  ad- 
jacent;  in  which  service  he  succeeded  in  captur- 
ing a  British  brig  and  a  Greek  vessel.  We  read, 
(hat  "on  the  3d  of  August,  1804,  the  Siren  led  the 
attack  on  the  town,  flotilla,  and  batteries  of  Trip- 
oli. For  the  gallant  manner  in  which  Stewart 
brought  his  vessel  into  action  and  prompt  obedi- 
ence to  signals,  the  commodore  the  next  day  in 
general  orders  thanked  him.  For  the  whole  of 
August  and  part  of  September  the  squadron  vig- 
orously bombarded  the  city  and  batteries  of 
Tripoli  whenever  the  wind  would  permit  their 
approach  and  withdrawal.  Upon  all  such  occa- 
sions, night  or  day,  they  sent  their  flaming  shells 
or  crushing  round  shots  at  the  foe,  sinking  sev- 
eral of  their  flotilla  and  damaging  the  batteries 
and  houses."  The  conclusion  of  a  treaty  of  peace 
put  an  end  for  the  time  to  Stewart's  chances  of 
distinguishing  himself  further. 

So  far  the  incidents  of  Charles  Stewart's  naval 
career  were  evidences  of  his  gallantry  and  skill. 
His  next  service  was  one  which  exhibited  in  him 
clear-sightedness,  good  sense,  and  highly  honor- 
able feeling.  He  had  been  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  Master  Commandant,  put  in  charge  of  a  thirty- 
two  gun-ship,  the  Essex,  and  despatched  with  a 
squadron  to  Tunis,  between  which  State  and  the 
Union  there  was  trouble  brewing.  The  American 
consul  sought  refuge  on  board  the  fleet,  so  hos- 


38  C.    S.    PARNELL,    If..  P. 

tile  was  popular  feeling  among  the  Tunisians. 
The  posture  of  affairs  was  so  serious,  we  read, 
that  "a  council  was  convened  on  board  the  flag- 
ship, the  situation  was  explained,  and  the  opinion 
of  the  officers  demanded  whether  hostilities  ought 
not  to  be  immediately  commenced.  Captain 
Stewart  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  there  was  no 
power  under  the  constitution  which  authorized 
hostilities  and  war  on  others,  but  that  which  was 
lodged  exclusively  with  Congress  ;  that  the  Pres- 
ident could  not  exercise  this  power  without  the 
action  and  authority  of  Congress,  much  less  the 
commander  of  an  American  squadron  ;  that  due 
respect  for  the  laws  of  nations  forbade  aggres- 
sion, and  only  justified  self-defence  by  vigilance 
and  convoy  for  the  protection  of  citizens,  their 
property  and  commerce  ;  but  where  hostile  at- 
tempts were  made  on  either,  he  would  be  justi- 
fied in  seizing  all  persons  engaged  in  them,  but 
no  farther  would  his  country  sanction  his  acts." 
His  sound  reasoning  and  discretion  prevailed, 
and  amicable  relations  were  soon  restored ;  the 
consul  returning  to  his  post,  and  the  Bey  of 
Tunis  sending  a  special  Minister  to  the  United 
States.  When  President  Jefferson  received  from 
the  consul-general  a  copy  of  that  opinion  as  de- 
livered to  the  council,  he  expressed  to  his  Cabinet 
"the  high  satisfaction  he  felt  at  having  an  officer 
in  the  squadron  who  comprehended  the  interna- 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  39 

tional  law,  the  constitution  of  his  country,  and 
the  policy  of  his  Government." 

Naturally  promotion  followed  a  man  who  could 
not  only  fight  and  handle  a  ship,  but  could  think 
clearly  and  judiciously  for  his  country's  interests 
and  good  name  as  well.  A  post-captaincy  —  then 
the  highest  rank  in  the  United  States  navy — was 
bestowed  on  him  the  22d  of  April,  1806  ;  and  as 
there  was  no  need  to  employ  him  on  active  ser- 
vice, his  versatile  talents  were  turned  to  account 
in  another  way  —  namely,  in  superintending,  at 
New  York,  for  a  coaple  of  years,  the  construc- 
tion of  a  flotilla  of  gun-boats. 

Several  years  of  peace  followed,  which  Post- 
Captain  Stewart,  with  the  sanction  of  the  author- 
ities, utilized  for  his  own  profit  in  commercial 
enterprises  which  added  considerably  to  his 
means.  However,  on  the  breaking  out  of  the 
war  with  England  in  1812,  the  first  thought  of 
the  hero  was  not  for  himself  or  his  interests  but 
for  his  country's.  He  hastened  to  Washington 
to  offer  his  services ;  but  was  stunned  by  receiv- 
ing, at  the  navy  department,  the  dismaying  in- 
telligence that  President  Madison's  Cabinet,  in 
view  of  the  overwhelming  superiority  of  the 
British  navy,  had  decided  to  collect  all  the  Union 
ships  of  war  in  New  York  harbor,  partly  to  de- 
fend the  place  and  partly  to  save  the  infant  navy 
from  annihilation.  Stewart  and  Captain  Brain- 
bridge  joined  in  an  effort  to  convert  the  Secretary 


40  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

of  the  Navy  from  the  holding  of  a  tenet  so  humil- 
iating to  the  country  j  and  that  same  evening  they 
addressed  a  joint  letter  to  President  Madison,  so 
spirited,  powerful,  and  convincing  "as  to  cause 
him  to  immediately  direct  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  to  send  the  vessels  of  war  to  sea  to  seek 
their  enemy,  and  he  would  take  the  responsibility 
on  himself."  So  that,  before  a  shot  was  fired, 
Stewart  had  already  covered  himself  wdth  glory 
by  being  so  deeply  instrumental  in  taking  his 
country  out  of  a  position  of  disgraceful  timidity 
and  national  humiliation.  The  result  fully  proved 
the  wisdom  as  well  as  the  courage  of  both  Brain  - 
bridge  and  Stewart ;  for  the  naval  annals  of  this 
war  of  1812  are  among  the  brightest  records  of 
heroic  feats  of  arms  and  marvellous  successes  of 
which  Americans  can  legitimately  boast. 

The  day  after  the  writing  of  the  timely  and  in- 
fluential letter  just  referred  to,  Stewart  received 
instructions  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to 
proceed  immediately  to  New  York  to  take  com- 
mand of  the  Argus,  with  which  he  was  to  scour 
the  West  Indies  and  the  Gulf  Stream,  and  to 
attack  and  capture  every  British  ship  he  could, 
whether  of  war  or  merchandise.  In  the  Secre- 
tary's communication  occurs  the  following  sen- 
tence, so  highly  flattering  to  Stewart:  "To  your 
judgment,  your  valor,  and  your  patriotism  is 
committed  the  best  course  to  be  pursued  to  ac- 
complish the  object  of  these  instructions/' 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  41 

Nevertheless  Stewart  did  not  assume  command 
of  the  Argus.  A  better  vessel  was  put  at  his 
disposal.  We  read  :  "At  a  ball  given  to  Captain 
Stewart  and  his  officers  before  they  proceeded  to 
sea  in  the  Constellation,  by  the  citizens  of  Wash- 
ington, in  December,  1812,  about  ten  o'clock  at 
night,  midshipman  Hamilton,  the  son  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Navy,  arrived  with  the  flag  of  the 
Macedonian  (British)  frigate,  and  despatches 
from  Captain  Decatur,  announcing  his  having 
captured  her  with  the  frigate  United  States.  The 
dancing  ceased,  the  Hag  was  unrolled,  and  the 
despatch  read  to  the  President  and  the  assembled 
ladies  and  gentlemen.  The  wildest  scene  of  glo- 
rious confusion  followed.  A  venerable  Senator  of 
the  United  States  embraced  the  President ;  and 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  in  a  spirit  of  frankness 
beyond  praise,  announced  to  those  assembled  :  *It 
is  to  Captains  Brainbridge  and  Stewart  you  owe 
your  naval  victories. '" 

The  Constellation  was  the  vessel  in  which 
Charles  Stewart  set  forth  against  the  British  ;  but, 
notwithstanding  her  starry  appellation,  her  per- 
formances were  not  brilliant  on  that  cruise.  It 
was  her  gallant  commander's  ill  fortune  to  be 
blockaded  in  the  harbor  of  Norfolk,  Virginia,  by 
a  fleet  of  heavy  ships  belonging  to  the  enemy, 
against  which  it  would  have  been  sheer  madness 
to  dream  of  contending.  But  to  be  inactive  at 
such  a  crisis  in  the  fortunes  of  his  land  was  the 


42  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P 

idea  which  of  all  others  he  could  least  entertain. 
He  accordingly  got  himself  transferred  to  the 
frigate  Constitution,  in  which  he  set  sail  from  Bos- 
ton in  December,  1813,  for  the  West  Indies.  In  a 
short  time  he  had  met  and  destroyed  several  Brit- 
ish ships,  including  the  Picton,  of  sixteen  guns,  a 
privateer  of  ten  guns,  a  schooner,  and  a  brig. 
The  Constitution  had  put  so  hurriedly  to  sea  that 
after  a  few  months  she  had  to  return  to  get  new 
sails,  instead  of  the  worn-out  ones  she  carried. 
On  her  way  she  was  chased  by  two  of  the  enemy's 
frigates,  and  Captain  Stewart,  not  satisfied  that 
his  craft  was  just  then  in  proper  fighting  trim, 
skilfully  gave  them  the  slip,  and  ran  her  almost 
under  the  guns  of  the  fort  of  Marbleheacl,  about 
sixteen  miles  north-east  of  Boston,  where  she  was 
in  safety.  In  a  few  days  she  was  able  to  make 
Boston  to  refit. 

It  had  happened  many  years  previously  that  in 
an  idle  moment  Charles  Stewart  had  submitted  to 
the  imposition  of  one  of  that  class  of  frauds 
known  as  "fortune-tellers,"  by  whom  he  had  been 
informed  that  it  was  his  fate  to  marry  "the  belle 
of  Boston."  By  one  of  those  singular  coinci- 
dences which  sometimes  happen,  the  prediction 
was  literally  verified.  While  waiting  for  his  ship 
to  be  got  ready  he  fell  in  love  with  and  espoused 
Miss  Delia  Tudor,  daughter  of  the  Judge  Tudor 
before  mentioned,  and  who  was  pre-eminently 
"the  belle"  of  the  city.     Short  time  was  allowed 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  43 

afterwards  for  nuptial  bliss.  The  Constitution 
was  ready  for  another  cruise,  and  the  bridegroom 
could  no  longer  tarry  with  his  bride.  As  he 
parted  from  her  he  asked  her  what  present  she 
would  like  him  to  bring  for  her  on  his  return. 
"Bring  me  a  British  frigate,"  was  her  patriotic 
answer.  "You  shall  have  two,"  he  replied,  his 
eyes  kindling  with  love  and  pride  ;  "and  I  shall 
wear  my  wedding  uniform  in  battle." 

It  was  in  the  December  of  1814  that  he  again 
put  to  sea,  as  little  regardful  of  the  Winter's  wild 
storms  as  of  the  enemy's  countless  ships.  Two 
of  the  latter  were  soon  in  his  hands.  One  he  de- 
stroyed ;  the  other,  which  had  on  board  a  valuable 
cargo,  he  sent  to  New  York. 

By  February,  1815,  he  was  off  the  coast  of 
Spain.  There  was  some  repining  among  the  sub- 
ordinate officers  of  the  Constitution  at  the  ill  luck 
of  the  vessel  in  not  having  had  a  brush  with  the 
enemy  off  the  European  coast.  Charles  Stewart 
overheard  them  grumble.  Perhaps  he  had  a  pre- 
sentiment of  what  was  about  to  come  ;  perhaps  — 
and  this  is  more  likely  —  he  was  actually  in  search, 
from  information  he  had  picked  up,  of  certain 
British  war-ships  in  his  neighborhood.  Whatever 
his  inspiration,  it  is  certain  that  he  bade  the  offi- 
cers to  keep  up  their  spirits,  for  the  chance  of  dis- 
tinguishing themselves  for  which  they  sighed  was 
close  at  hand.  "I  assure  you,  gentlemen,"  he 
concluded,  "that  before  another  sun  sets  you  will 


44  C.    S.    TARNELL,    M.  P. 

be  engaged  in  battle  with  the  enemy,  and  it  will 
not  be  with  a  single  ship."  This  was  said  on  the 
morning  of  the  19th  of  February. 

About  half-past  one  o'clock  on  the  same  day  a 
sail  some  twelve  miles  away  was  descried  by  the 
look-out  on  the  masthead  of  the  Constitution. 
Chase  was  given  until  four  o'clock,  by  which 
time  the  distance  between  the  vessels  was  lessened 
by  one-half,  when  unfortunately,  under  the  power 
of  a  freshening  breeze,  the  main-royal  mast  of 
the  Constitution  was  carried  away.  Nothing 
could  well  be  more  vexatious  to  men  ?f  spoiling  for 
a  fight "  as  were  those  on  board,  since  the  accident 
in  the  short  February  evening  gave  the  chase  an 
excellent  chance  of  slipping  away.  However,  the 
gallant  captain  wasted  no  time  in  fretting  over  the 
mishap  ;  but  got  to  work  at  once  in  repairing  the 
damage,  and  with  such  celerity  that  in  half  an 
hour  a  new  spar  had  been  put  up,  the  royal  sail 
again  set,  and  the  Constitution  was  forging  ahead 
at  her  utmost  speed.  Just  at  this  time  another 
ship  of  war  was  reported  by  the  look-out,  and  ev- 
idently exchanging  signals  with  the  chase.  Cap- 
tain Stewart  understood  the  signals,  and  from 
them  divined  that  the  vessels  were  British  men-of- 
war  and  cousorts.  What  followed  is  so  well  de- 
scribed in  the  Life  of  Stewart,  from  which  we 
have  before  quoted,  that  we  shall  make  use  of  the 
description  here  :  — 

"  One  of  the  vessels  being  painted  with  double  yel- 


0.    8.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  45 

low  streaks  and  false  ports  in  the  waist,  had  at  a  dis- 
tance the  appearance  of  a  double-decked  ship,  and 
Lieutenant  Ballard  told  Captain  Stewart  that  she  must 
be  at  least  a  fifty -gun  ship.  He  replied  that  she  looked 
too  small  to  be  a  ship  of  that  class,  but  might  be  an 
old  fort}T-four  on  two  decks.  '  However,'  he  added, 4  be 
this  as  it  may,  you  know  I  promised  you  a  fight  before 
the  setting  of  to-morrow's  sun,  and  if  we  do  not  take  it 
now  that  it  is  offered,  we  can  scarcely  have  another 
chance.  We  must  flog  them  when  we  catch  them, 
whether  she  has  one  gun-deck  or  two  ! ' 

41  At  five  o'clock  the  leeward  ship  bore  up  before  the 
wind,  under  easy  sail,  to  enable  the  chased  ship  to  join 
her.  The  Constitution  having  gained  considerably  on 
the  chase,  with  a  hope  of  crippling  her,  or  bringing 
her  to  action  before  she  could  join  her  consort,  fired  a 
shot  at  her  which  fell  short.  The  chase  continued  until 
the  two  ships  joined,  and  a  little  before  seven  o'clock, 
the  moon  shining  brightly,  the  British  ships  hauled  to 
the  wind  in  a  line  ahead  of  each  other,  about  two 
hundred  yards  apart.  Reducing  to  fighting  sail,  and 
heaving  to  with  the  main-top  sails  to  the  masts,  they 
awaited  the  American's  Coming  up.  The  Constitution 
was  on  the  starboard  quarter  of  the  sternmost  vessel, 
about  one  mile  distant.  Furling  in  all  except  the  top- 
sails, jib,  and  topgallant  sails,  reduced  to  fighting  trim, 
she  gradually  lutfed  to  starboard,  and  ranged  along  the 
windward  side  of  the  sternmost  ship  until  she  reached 
the  desired  position,  which  was  at  t lie  apex  of  the  equi- 
lateral triangle,  the  British  ships  forming  the  base  line. 
Stewart  heaving  the  Constitution  to,  with  the  mainsails 
to  the  mast  and  the  jib  in  brails,  he  fired  a  shot,  not  at 
either,  but  between  both,  with  a  view  to  invite  the  ac- 


46  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

tion  and  draw  their  fire.  His  motive  for  this  was  to 
make  the  British  commit  the  first  act  of  hostility,  he 
having  boarded  a  Russian  ship  three  days  before,  direct 
from  London,  and  received  from  her  captain  a  copy  of 
the  London  Times,  containing  the  heads  of  the  treaty 
of  Ghent,  as  signed  by  the  Ministers  of  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain,  and  said  to  have  been  ratified 
by  the  Prince  Regent.  Supposing  the  British  ships 
might  have  later  information  than  himself,  he  wished 
to  give  them  a  chance  to  decline  battle  if  peace  had 
been  made  between  the  two  countries." 

Here  we  may  interrupt  the  narrative  for  a  mo- 
ment to  note  how  scrupulously  Captain  Stewart 
respected  the  rules  and  regulations  of  naval  war- 
fare, or,  as  it  would  be  phrased  in  the  London 
Parliament  kept  himself  "in  order. "  But  to  con- 
tinue :  — 

"  The  Cyane  (Captain  Gordon  Falcon)  and  the 
Levant  (Captain  Hon.  George  Douglas)  answered 
with  broadsides  and  musketiy,  and  the  Constitution 
opened  with  a  division  on  the  gun  deck  and  another  on 
the  forecastle  on  the  Levant,  and  two  divisions  on  the 
gun  deck  and  another  on  the  quarter  deck  on  the 
Cyane.  The  Constitution  maintained  the  same  position 
throughout  the  fight,  as  a  nearer  approach  would  have 
thrown  one  of  the  ships  out  of  the  line  of  her  fire,  and 
exposed  her  to  being  raked.  Thus  the  battle  was  con- 
tinued for  about  forty  minutes,  when  the  Levant  wore 
off  before  the  wind  and  retired  from  the  fight.  Her 
consort  the  Cyane,  immediately  after  wore  short 
round,  and  hauling  close  to  the  wind,  poured  in  her 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  47 

broadside  with  her  colors  struck  and  hanging  over  the 
taffrail,  as  the  Constitution  was  in  the  act  of  wearing 
around  after  her.  Not  the  slightest  injury  was  done  by 
this  fire.  Stewart,  though  feeling  incensed,  did  not 
return  it,  determined  to  hold  the  officer  in  command 
responsible.  The  matter  was  afterwards  explained  as 
occurring  in  mistake.  The  Cyane  was  immediately 
taken  possession  of,  and  her  officers  sent  on  board  the 
Constitution,  which  filled  away  to  leeward  after  the 
Levant,  followed  by  the  prize,  with  the  American  en- 
sign flying.  The  Levant,  finding  it  impossible  to 
escape,  wore  ship,  and  ranged  under  larboard  tack 
along  the  starboard  battery  of  the  Constitution  in  close 
and  gallant  style,  and  delivered  her  fire.  The  Consti- 
tution poured  into  her  a  broadside,  and  wearing  short 
around,  plunged  into  her  stern  three  chase  shots,  which 
arrested  her  escape  and  brought  down  her  colors.  She 
was  immediately  boarded  and  her  officers  sent  to 
Stewart's  ship. 

uThe  principal  injury  received  by  the  Constitution 
was  in  her  rigging  ;  that  of  the  enemy's  ships  in  their 
hulls.  The  Americans  had  three  killed  and  twelve 
wounded,  three  of  the  latter  mortally.  The  Cyane  lost 
twelve  killed  and  twenty-six  wounded ;  the  Jjeto 
twenty-three  killed  and  sixteen  wounded  —  total 
British  casualties,  seventy  seven.  The  Constitution 
mounted  fifty-one  guns,  twenty-four  of  which  were 
thirty-two  pounders ;  the  Cyane  thirty-two  guns,  of 
which  twenty-two  were  thirty-two  pounders  ;  and  the 
Levant  twenty-one  guns,  eighteen  of  which  were  thirty- 
two  pounders.  The  odds  against  the  Constitution  is 
most  clearly  shown  in  the  calibre  of  the  guns,  the 
British  carrying  sixteen  more  thirty-two  pounders." 


48  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

In  his  History  of  the  American  Navy,  J.  Fen- 
niraore  Cooper,  commenting  on  this  splendid 
naval  victory,  says  :  — 

"  The  manner  in  which  Captain  Stewart  handled  his 
ship  on  this  occasion  excited  much  admiration  among 
nautical  men  ;  it  being  unusual  for  a  single  vessel  to 
engage  two  enemies  and  escape  being  raked.  So  far 
from  this  occurring  to  the  Constitution,  however,  she 
actually  raked  both  her  opponents ;  and  the  manner 
in  which  she  backed  and  filled  in  the  smoke,  forcing 
her  two  antagonists  down  to  leeward  when  they  were 
endeavoring  to  cross  her  stern  or  forefoot,  is  surely 
the  most  brilliant  manoeuvring  in  naval  annals." 

A  couple  of  anecdotes  relating  to  this  sea-fight 
can  hardly  fail  to  be  interesting  here. 

While  the  victor  was  sitting  in  his  cabin,  talk- 
ing with  one  of  his  prisoners,  a  British  captain, 
there  entered  a  midshipman  of  the  Contitution,  to 
inquire  if  the  crew  might  have  their  usual  allow- 
ance of  grog.  Now  the  ordinary  time  of  serving 
out  grog  had  passed  before  the  action  began  ;  so 
Captain  Stewart,  in  surprise,  asked  if  the  men  had 
not  been  supplied  already.  M  No,  sir,"  replied 
the  midshipman ;  "  it  was  mixed  ready  for  serving 
just  before  the  battle  began,  but  the  forecastle 
men  and  other  old  sailors  of  the  crew  said  they 
didn't  want  any  Dutch  courage  on  board,  and  cap- 
sized the  grog-tub  in  the  lee-scuppers."  That  is 
precisely  the  sort  of  spirit  which  at  least  deserves 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  49 

success,  and  which  generally  succeeds  in  attain- 
ing it. 

The  two  British  captains  were  foolish  enough 
to  dispute  in  Stewart's  presence  concerning  the 
conduct  of  the  battle,  and  to  blame  each  other  for 
not  having  done  this,  that,  or  the  other  which  must 
infallibly  have  brought  about  a  different  result  to 
the  action.  Such  paltry  endeavors  to  shift  blame 
from  each  to  the  other  were  eminently  distasteful 
to  a  truly  brave  man,  as  Stewart  was ;  and  at 
length  he  felt  bound  to  interfere.  "Gentlemen," 
said  he,  "there  is  no  use  in  getting  warm  about 
it ;  it  would  have  been  all  the  same  whatever  you 
might  have  done.  If  you  doubt  that,  I  will  put 
you  all  on  board  again,  and  you  can  try  it  over." 
Englishmen  would  say  that  the  remark  was  only  a 
specimen  of  "Yankee  bumptiousness;"  impartial 
critics  may  see  in  it  merely  the  confidence  of  a 
man  who  knew  why  and  how  he  had  won,  and 
who  felt  himself  able  to  do  again  what  he  had 
already  done.  At  all  events  the  British  cap- 
tains did  not  jump  at  his  offer,  but  preferred  to 
remain  snug  and  safe  as  prisoners  of  war  on  board 
the  Constitution. 

On  the  10th  of  March  the  Constitution  and  ber 
two  splendid  prizes  arrived  at  Port  Praya  in  the 
island  of  Santiago,  the  largest  of  the  Cape  de 
Verde  group.  Next  day  the  British  captains 
were  allowed  on  shore,  on  parole,  to  make  ar- 
rangements for  the   transport  of  their  crews  to 


50  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

Barbadoes.  They  secured  two  brigs  in  the  har 
bor.  While  the  Constitution's  boats  were  carry- 
ing provisions,  etc.,  to  the  brigs,  a  heavy  British 
squadron,  under  Sir  George  Collier  was  discov- 
ered approaching  in  the  thick  fog,  within  three 
miles  of  the  position  of  Stewart's  ship  and  her 
prizes.  It  was  the  well  known  policy  of  the 
British  ships  of  war  to  attack  their  enemy's 
cruisers  in  neutral  waters  if  it  could  be  done  with- 
out danger.  They  preferred  reimbursing  any 
claims  made  upon  such  neutral  by  an  enemy  than 
to  allow  that  enemy's  vessel  to  escape  and  commit 
depredations  upon  their  commercial  marine.  Stew- 
art was  well  aware  of  this ;  he  appreciated  accu- 
rately the  utterly  unscrupulous  character  of  the 
British;  and  he  instantly  recognized  the  danger 
of  his  position.  Beating  to  quarters,  making  all 
sail,  and  cutting  cable,  he  got  under  way,  and 
stretched  out  of  the  harbor,  followed  by  the  two 
prizes.  The  British  fleet  hurried  immediately  in 
pursuit,  the  Acasta,  of  fifty  guns,  gradually 
crawling  up  to  the  prize  Cyane.  Stewart  signalled 
the  latter  to  tack  and  separate  from  him,  which  she 
did,  and  doubled  their  rear,  and  arrived  safe  in 
New  York.  The  fleet  held  steadily  in  pursuit  of 
the  Constitution ;  the  Newcastle >  sixty- four  guns 
(Captain  Lord  George  Stewart),  coming  well  up. 
Fortunately,  however,  she  opened  lire  by  divi- 
sions, which  had  the  effect  of  retarding  her  sailing 
much.     Stewart  apprehended  most  from  the  posi- 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  51 

tion  and  weatherly  qualities  of  the  Acasta,  which 
he  saw  wrould  soon  obtain  a  position  to  hold  the 
Constitution  in  check  until  her  more  powerful  con- 
sort could  come  up.  Fighting  was  out  of  the 
question,  as  his  crew  was  short  by  reason  of  hav- 
ing to  subtract  from  it  the  crews  which  took  pos- 
session of  the  prizes ;  while  the  crews  of  the 
prizes  themselves  were  of  necessity  much  too  weak 
to  handle  those  vessels  in  an  encounter  with  a 
powerful  squadron.  Nothing  was  left  to  Com- 
mander Stewart,  therefore,  than  to  trust  to  his 
skill  in  manoeuvring  to  get  away  unscathed.  He 
consequently  signalled  the  Levant  to  tack,  and 
lighted  his  shot-furnace,  in  the  hope  of  putting  a 
few  red-hot  balls  into  the  enemy's  hull  and  Betting 
her  on  fire,  so  forcing  her- consorts  to  go  to  her 
relief. 

Immediately  after  the  Levant  tacked,  a  signal 
was  thrown  out  from  the  Leander,  the  sixty-four 
gun  ship  of  Sir  George  Collier,  who  commanded 
the  squadron,  for  the  Acasta  to  tack  after  the 
Levant,  and  the  Leander  and  the  JVeiccaslle  tack- 
ing at  the  same  time  to  cut  off  her  retreat  by  their 
rear,  thus  compelled  the  Levant  to  return  to  Port 
Praya,  where  she  anchored  under  the  guns  of  the 
forts,  in  neutral  waters,  in  which,  according  to  in- 
ternational law,  she  should  have  been  perfectly 
safe  from  attack.  The  British  fleet,  however,  fol- 
lowed her  and  entered  the  harbor,  taking  her 
thence  by  force  with  them  to  the  West  Indies, 


52  C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P. 

together  with  the  boats  of  the  Constitution  and 
her  anchors,  and  those  of  the  Cyane  and  Levant, 
left  in  the  neutral  waters  of  the  harbor.  Not  the 
slightest  attempt  was  made  by  the  forts  to  pre- 
serve the  neutrality  of  the  waters  inviolate.  The 
Portuguese,  being  weak,  wTere  afraid  to  stand  up 
for  their  rights ;  and  the  British,  who  have  a 
great  respect  for  the  strong,  and  none  whatever 
for  the  weak,  trampled  without  scruple,  after  their 
wont,  on  the  undoubted  rights  of  the  Portuguese, 
simply  because  they  were  weak. 

Stewart,  however,  contrived  to  elude  them,  and 
in  the  Constitution  proceeded  to  Brazil,  landed  his 
prisoners,  and  returned  to  Boston.  The  news  of 
his  remarkable  victory  was  received  with  enthusi- 
asm throughout  the  country.  In  Boston  he  and 
his  officers  were  honored  with  a  triumphal  pro- 
cession. In  New  York  the  council  voted  him  the 
freedom  of  the  city,  gave  him  a  gold  snuff-box, 
and  him  and  his  officers  a  public  dinner.  Penn- 
sylvania voted  him  the  thanks  of  the  common- 
wealth and  a  gold-hilted  sword.  Congress  passed 
a  vote  of  thanks  to  him  and  his  brave  officers, 
caused  a  gold  medal  to  be  struck  in  his  honor, 
and  presented  it  to  him  in  commemoration  of 
the  event. 

The  remainder  of  Admiral  Stewart's  career  we 
condense  from  an  excellent  sketch  of  his  life  which 
appeared  in  the  Bordentown  Register,  and  to 
which  we  have  been  already  indebted. 


C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P.  53 

The  war  having  terminated  with  Great  Britain, 
Captain  Stewart  never  again  met  the  enemy  in 
battle.  Yet  his  active  career  of  usefulness  in  the 
service  of  his  country  was  not  ended.  In  the 
Mediterranean  squadron,  commanded  by  Commo- 
dore Chauncey,  a  widespread  spirit  of  mutiny  had 
manifested  itself.  So  far  had  it  gone  that  the 
malcontent  officers  had  actually  "  threatened  to 
draw  their  swords  on  their  commanders. "  Com- 
modore Stewart  was  in  1817  sent  in  ship-of  the- 
line  Franklin  to  supersede  Chauncey  and  restore 
the  proper  discipline.  In  1819  he  ordered  a 
court-martial  to  meet  on  board  the  Guerriere,  to 
try  a  marine  for  an  alleged  offence.  The  officers, 
however,  preferred  to  sit  at  a  hotel  in  Naples, 
where  the  man  was  tried  and  convicted.  The 
commodore,  knowing  that  the  session  of  the  court 
at  any  place  than  that  directed  by  orders  was 
illegal,  disapproved  the  proceedings,  released  the 
prisoner,  and  informed  the  court  of  his  action. 
The  court  passed  a  scries  of  resolutions,  which  act 
was  instantly  followed  by  the  arrest  of  every  com- 
manding officer  of  the  vessels  of  the  squadron. 
This  summary  proceeding  at  once  restored  a 
healthy  state  of  feeling  throughout  the  squadron. 
The  President  and  Cabinet  approved  of  Stewart's 
proceeding,  but  as  the  officers  expressed  regret  at 
their  conduct,  the  matter  was  dropped. 

AVhile  the  squadron  lay  at  Naples  the  Emperor 
of  Austria  and  suite  visited  the  Frahldin.     The 


54  C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P. 

grand  master  of  the  Empress,  arrayed  in  a  mag- 
nificently brilliant  uniform,  being  somewhat  near- 
sighted, mistook  a  wind  sail  for  a  mast,  and  fell 
from  the  deck  to  the  cock-pit,  breaking  his  ankle. 
The  commodore,  who  was  engaged  in  conversation 
at  the  time,  not  seeing  what  had  happened,  asked 
what  the  matter  was.  The  old  quartermaster  of 
the  watch,  whose  duty  it  was  to  see  everything, 
far  and  near,  replied  coolly,  "Oh,  nothing,  sir; 
only  one  of  them  bloody  kings  has  fallen  down 
the  hatch ! " 

In  1821  Commodore  Stewart  was  sent  in  the 
Franklin  to  the  Pacific.  The  Spanish-American 
provinces  were  struggling  for  independence 
Spain  was  a  friendly  Power  to  whom  the  United 
States  owed  justice  and  a  strict  neutrality.  The 
"Patriots"  possessed  all  American  sympathies. 
The  Pacific  was  swarming  with  buccaneers  claim- 
ing the  protection  of  Spain,  who  were  depreda- 
ting on  American  commerce,  and  the  "Patriots" 
had  declared  a  paper  blockade  of  hundreds  of 
miles  of  coast.  Stewart  owed  but  one  duty,  and 
that  was  to  his  country.  He  promptly  put  an 
end  both  to  the  nominal  blockade  and  to  the  pro- 
tected piracy. 

On  his  return  home  he  was  confronted  by  a 
long  series  of  charges,  some  of  trifling,  some  of 
serious  import,  regarding  his  demeanor  while  in 
the  Pacific.  The  Navy  Department  thought  best 
that  these  accusations  should  be  submitted  to  a 


C.    S.    PABNELL,    M.  P.  55 

court-martial.  The  court  honorably  acquitted  the 
commodore,  and  stated  they  felt  compelled  "by 
a  sense  of  duty  to  go  farther,  and  to  make  un- 
hesitatingly this  declaration  to  the  world  —  that, 
so  far  from  having  violated  the  high  duties  of 
neutrality  and  respect  for  the  laws  of  nations  ;  so 
far  from  having  sacrificed  the  honor  of  the  Ameri- 
can flag,  or  tarnished  his  own  fair  fame,  by  acting 
upon  any  motive  of  a  mercenary  or  sordid  kind ; 
so  far  from  having  neglected  his  duty,  or  betrayed 
the  trust  reposed  in  him  by  refusing  proper  pro- 
tection to  American  citizens  and  property,  or 
rendering  such  protection  subservient  to  individ- 
ual interests,  no  one  circumstance  has  been  de- 
veloped throughout  the  whole  course  of  this 
minute  investigation  into  the  various  occurrences 
of  a  three  years'  cruise,  calculated  to  impair  the 
confidence  which  the  members  of  this  court,  the 
navy,  and  the  naLion  have  long  reposed  in  the 
honor,  the  talents,  and  the  patriotism  of  this  dis- 
tinguished officer,  or  to  weaken  in  any  manner 
the  opinion  which  all  who  know  him  entertain  of 
his  humanity  and  disinterestedness.  These  vir- 
tues only  glow  with  brighter  lustre  from  this 
ordeal  of  trial,  like  the  stars  he  triumphantly  dis- 
played when  valor  and  skill  achieved  a  new  victory 
to  adorn  the  annals  of  our  naval  glory. 

Upon  the  commodore's  return  from  Washington , 
where  his  trial  took  place,  to  his  native  city  Phil- 


56  C.    S.    PARNELL,  M.  P. 

adelphia,,  his  friends  greeted  him  with  a  public 
dinner. 

Many  years  later  on,  his  popularity  continued 
so  great  that  an  effort  was  made  to  "run  "  him  for 
the  Presidency.  In  the  course  of  four  months  no 
less  than  sixty-seven  papers  declared  for  him. 
But  the  project  did  not  receive  his  sanction ;  he 
gave  it  no  countenance ;  he  would  not  even  dis- 
cuss it ;  he  was  "unusually  nervous  and  fidgety" 
during  the  agitation  of  the  subject ;  and  at  length 
its  promoters  were  impelled  to  give  it  up.  He  re- 
gained his  usual  equanimity  only  when  his  name 
ceased  to  be  bandied  about  by  the  political  press. 

Commodore  Stewart  while  on  shore  was  con- 
stantly employed  upon  naval  boards  and  commis- 
sions, court-martials,  etc.,  and  for  many  years  was 
in  command  of  the  Philadelphia  Navy  Yard, 
from  which  latter  position  he  was  relieved  at  his 
own  request  in  1861.  He  was  long  the  confiden- 
tial and  trusted  adviser  of  the  Navy  Department 
and  the  naval  committees  of  Congress.  In  1855 
Congress  created  a  retiring  board,  and  Stewart 
was  among  its  illustrious  victims.  A  few  years 
afterwards  a  special  Act  of  Congress  was  passed, 
conferring  upon  him  the  title  of  "Senior  Flag  Of- 
ficer" on  the  active  list.  He  refused  to  receive 
the  commission,  claiming  that  he  already  held  that 
rank.  His  commission  as  Eear  Admiral,  the  first 
sent  out  under  the  new  law,  bears  date  July  16th, 
1862. 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  57 

Admiral  Stewart  was  in  his  eighty-third  year 
when  the  insurgents  of  the  South  fired  upon  Fort 
Sumpter.  It  roused  the  blood  of  the  old  man's 
heart  to  hear  of  this  insult  to  his  nation's  flag. 
At  once  he  wrote  to  the  department  imploring  to 
he  put  on  active  service.  "I  am  young  as  ever," 
he  pleaded  "to  fight  for  my  country."  It  was 
hard  to  deny  the  old  hero  the  opportunity  to  draw 
once  more  his  sword  in  defence  of  the  flag  and 
Government  he  loved  so  well,  but  younger  men 
were  required  for  the  steamship  service,  to  which 
he  was  a  stranger. 

He  lived  on  for  nine  years  more,  towards  the 
last  suffering  fearfully  from  a  deadly  disease.  In 
his  Life  we  fiud  this  passage  :  — 

"  We  know  how  he  suffered,  and  how  gradually,  yet 
surety,  he  was  failing.  And  }Tet  we  heard  how  near 
the  invalid  came  to  blowing  himself  up  in  some  strange 
chemical  experiment,  and  what  fun  he  made  of  the 
danger.  To  the  last  he  was  cheerful  and  hopeful  — 
busied  with  affairs,  dictating  letters,  cracking  jokes, 
expecting  soon  to  be  well  again.  Then  he  could  not 
leave  his  bed  —  was  unable  to  speak  without  agony  — 

wrote  on  a  slate  '  I  want ' .     They  could  not  read 

what  it  was  he  wanted,  his  hand  trembled  so.  Per- 
haps it  was  the  cup  of  cold  water  they  pressed  to  his 
parched  lips.  Thus,  surrounded  by  those  who  loved 
him,  the  brave  spirit  passed  peacefully  away." 

11  His  death  took  place  on  the  afternoon  of  Novem- 
ber 6th,  18G9,  he  being  in  the  ninety-second  year  of 
his  age.     The  council  of  Bordentown  passed  appropri- 


58  C.    S.    PAKNELL,   M.  P. 

ate  resolutions,  the  bells  tolled  their  requiem,  business 
was  suspended,  and  the  citizens  paid  their  reverence. 
A  government  steamer  was  despatched  from  the  Phila- 
delphia Navy  Yard  to  convey  his  body  to  that  city. 
It  grounded,  and  the  remains,  accompanied  by  the 
maj'or,  council,  and  distinguished  citizens,  were  con- 
vej'ed  by  rail.  With  the  naval  escort,  the  stars 
shining  brightly,  they  proceeded  to  Independence 
Hall,  where  silently  they  laid  him  down,  while  the 
old  bell  tolled  forth  its  solemn  notes.  The  next  day, 
after  thousands  of  citizens  had  paid  their  humble  rev- 
erence, amidst  the  booming  of  guns,  the  muffled  notes 
of  bells,  and  the  funeral  strains  of  music,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  distinguished  men  of  the  nation  and  of  the 
city,  and  thousands  of  veterans  of  the  late  war  for  the 
Union,  the  old  hero's  body  was  given  back  to  mother 
earth." 

His  personal  appearance,  manner,  and  mental 
characteristics  are  described  as  follows  :  — 

"Commodore  Stewart  was  about  five  feet  nine 
inches  high,  and  of  a  dignified  and  engaging  presence. 
His  complexion  was  fair,  his  hair  chestnut,  eyes  blue, 
large,  penetrating,  and  intelligent.  The  cast  of  his 
countenance  was  Roman,  bold,  strong,  and  command- 
ing, and  his  head  finely  formed.  His  control  over  his 
passions  was  truly  surprising,  and  under  the  most  irri- 
tating circumstance  his  oldest  seaman  never  saw  a  ray 
of  anger  flash  from  his  eye.  His  kindness,  benevo- 
lence, and  humanity  were  proverbial,  but  his  sense  of 
justice  and  the  requisitions  of  duty  were  as  unbending 
as  fate.  In  the  moment  of  greatest  stress  and  danger 
he  was  as  cool,  and  quick  in  judgment,  as   he  was 


C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P.  59 

utterly  ignorant  of  fear.  His  mind  was  acute  and 
powerful,  grasping  the  greatest  or  smallest  subjects 
with  the  intuitive  mastery  of  genius.  He  was  a 
thorough  seaman,  and  not  only  fully  understood  his 
profession  as  a  naval  commander,  but  all  the  various 
interests  of  commerce,  the  foreign  polic}*  of  his  coun- 
try, the  principles  of  government  and  the  law  of  na- 
tions. His  numerous  official  letters  and  reports,  his 
correspondence  and  public  writings,  embracing  as  the}' 
did  a  wide  range  of  subjects,  showed  great  accurac}-' 
of  information." 

Characteristic  of  the  man  are  the  following 
anecdote  and  incident :  — 

The  Franklin,  while  under  his  command,  was  lying 
one  night  at  anchor  in  Gibraltar  Bay,  when  a  sudden 
blow  came  up  from  the  eastward,  causing  her  to  drag 
her  anchors  and  go  adrift.  A  midshipman  aroused 
the  commander  with  the  startling  news  :  u  How's  the 
wind?"  said  Stewart.  u  From  the  east,"  was  the 
reply ;  u  she  has  dragged  down  hill,  and  is  drifting 
towards  Algeria."  "  Well,"  was  the  quiet  rejoinder, 
44  the  anchors  will  take  when  she  drifts  over  there,  as  it 
will  be  up  hill  on  the  other  side." 

M  I  never  lost  but  one  tooth  in  my  life,"  he  said  to  a 
friend  ;  "  it  ached,  and  I  pulled  it  out  with  a  bullet 
mould,  aboard  ship,  in  a  gale  of  wind." 

"  As  a  story-teller  Stewart  was  inimitable  ;  he  was 
famous,  moreover,  for  repartee,  and  an  ever  ready  wit. 
His  manners  were  always  polite,  even  distinguished  ; 
he  dispensed  a  liberal  hospitality,  and  at  the  head  of 
his  table  he  was  unsurpassed.     Throughout  he  pre- 


60  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

served  a  native  dignity,  and  parried  with  ease  every 
familiarity,  as  well  as  the  many  inconvenient  demands 
which  men  in  his  position  are  constantly  subject  to." 

On  a  high  bluff  of  the  Delaware,  south  of 
Black's  Creek,  in  the  environs  of  Bordentown,  is 
the  old  country  seat  of  Admiral  Stewart,  called 
by  him  Montpelier,  but  now  generally  known  as 
Ironsides.  A  former  proprietor  caused  to  be 
erected  the  present  large  mansion  house.  The 
admiral  purchased  it  in  1816,  added  another  story, 
tastefully  laid  out  the  grounds,  and  planted  many 
white  pines,  whose  tops  now  reach  the  height  of  a 
hundred  feet. 

Admiral  Stewart  left  two  children,  Delia  Tudor 
and  Charles  Tudor  Stewart.  Charles  graduated 
at  college,  became  a  civil  engineer,  and  assisted 
in  laying  out  railroads.  At  twenty-seven  years 
of  age  he  performed  so  well  some  delicate  work 
in  investigating  the  affairs  of  a  New  Orleans  firm 
engaged  in  supplying  timber  for  foreign  navies 
that  he  was  taken  into  partnership,  and  entrusted 
with  the  entire  management  of  the  business  in 
Europe.  Being  well  acquainted  with  Prince  Mu- 
rat,  whom  he  had  often  befriended  during  his 
exile  and  poverty  in  Bordentown,  the  prince  pre- 
sented him  to  his  cousin  the  Emperor  Napoleon 
the  Third,  and  the  chiefs  of  the  Naval  Department 
of  France,  from  whom  he  obtained  heavy  con- 
tracts for  timber.  In  comparatively  a  few  years 
he   amassed    a  large   fortune.      After   travelling 


C.    S.    PARNELL,  M.  P.  61 

much  through  Europe  he  went  to  New  Orleans, 
where  he  studied  law  and  became  quite  noted  in 
his  new  profession.  He  died  several  years  ago, 
leaving  his  estate  to  his  sister  Delia,  who,  as  has 
been  previously  stated,  had  become  the  wife  of 
John  Henry  Parnell. 

John  Henry  and  Delia  Parnell  had  five  sons  and 
six  daughters.  Five  of  the  latter  and  three  of  the 
former  are  still  living  —  namely,  John  Howard, 
Charles  Stewart,  Henry  Tudor,  the  Misses  Fanny, 
Anna,  ;ind  Theodosia,  and  two  married  sisters  — 
Mrs.  Thompson,  who  resides  in  Paris  with  her 
husband ;  and  Mrs.  Dickenson,  who  generally 
lives  in  her  native  land.  On  the  death  of  their 
father,  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of  forty- 
eight,  he  left  behind  him  three  estates  in  Ireland. 
Charles  Stewart  Parnell  was  his  fourth  son. 

Charles'  elder  brother,  John  Howard  Parnell, 
inherited  a  considerable  property  in  the  comity 
Armagh,  on  which  he  usually  resides.  He  also 
owns  an  extensive  farm  iu  the  State  of  Alabama. 
At  the  general  election  of  1874  he  stood  as  a 
Home  Rule  candidate  for  the  representation  of 
county  Wieklow,  but  was  defeated.  The  remain- 
ing and  youngest  brother,  Henry  Tudor  Parnell, 
was  educated  to  the  bar,  and  is  the  owner  of 
landed  property  iu  the  county  Kilkenny.  lie 
mostly  lives  in  England.  The  three  unmarried 
sisters  of  Mr.  C.  S.  Parnell,  as  is  now  pretty 
generally  known,  share  his  Irish  sympathies,  are 


62  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

proud  of  the  honest  manly  part  he  has  taken  in 
Irish  politics,  and  are  ever  ready  to  defend  it  and 
him  against  all  slanderous  assailants.  They  were 
the  first  to  start  subscriptions  in  America  for  the 
Irish  people  threatened  with  famine,  early  in  the 
last  quarter  of  1879. 

Mrs.  Delia  Parnell,  the  daughter  of  Admiral 
Stewart,  brought  to  her  Irish  home  of  Avondale 
a  strong  American  love  of  independence,  and  a 
hearty  hate  of  British  greed  and  desire  for  domi- 
nation. She  became  in  thought  and  feeling  an 
Irish  Nationalist ;  and  from  her  mainly  is  derived 
the  warm  popular  sympathies  which  glow  in  the 
breasts  of  four  of  her  children.  During  her  resi- 
dence in  Ireland  she  used  the  means  at  her  dis- 
posal most  liberally  in  alleviating  the  perennial 
miseries  of  the  poor  around  her.  At  the  time  of 
the  Fenian  troubles  she  exerted  herself  in  effect- 
ing the  escape  of  some  who  were  badly  "wanted  " 
by  the  authorities  —  a  circumstance  which  pro- 
cured for  her  house  in  Upper  Temple  Street, 
Dublin,  the  distinction  of  a  visit  from  and  search 
by  the  police.  In  the  end  she  retired  to  the  home 
of  her  youth,  Bordentown,  New  Jersey,  with  her 
unmarried  daughters ;  at  which  place  she  spends 
most  of  the  year,  but  winters  at  New  York.  As 
the  heir  of  her  father  and  brother,  as  well  as 
through  the  resources  left  her  by  her  husband, 
she  is  mistress  of  an  ample  income. 

Charles  Stewart  Parnell  was  born  in  the  month 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  63 

of  June,  1846,  at  Avondale,  Eathdrum,  the  man- 
sion now  in  his  own  possession. 

As  a  child,  his  mother  says,  he  showed  an  un- 
common love  of  study  ;  devoting  far  more  time 
to  his  books  than  to  the  ordinary  sports  of  child- 
hood. His  memory  was  admirable,  and  he  was 
by  no  means  deficient  in  wit  and  sprightliness. 
As  a  boy  of  ten  he  amused  his  fellow-passengers 
in  a  coach  on  a  country  road  by  comparing  the 
population  and  military  strength  of  the  various 
countries  in  Europe,  with  a  view  to  determining 
their  respective  chances  in  the  event  of  a  general 
war.  At  this  time,  however,  his  mind  ran  less 
in  the  direction  of  politics  than  toward  mechani- 
cal science,  and  he  amused  his  friends  and  taxed 
his  own  mind  not  a  little  in  the  effort  to  solve  the 
problem  of  a  perpetual-motion  machine.  Again, 
when  he  wanted  some  bullets  and  had  no  mould 
in  which  to  form  them,  he  conceived  the  idea  of 
making  them  as  shot  is  made  —  by  dropping  hot 
lead  from  a  high  tower.  The  family  knew  noth- 
ing of  his  design  till  they  were  startled  by  the 
butler's  cry — "Come  down  there,  you  young 
rascal!  What  are  you  trying  to  do?*  and  the 
next  moment  that  worthy  man  rushed  up  the 
winding  staircase  to  the  roof  in  time  to  save 
the  ingenious  lad  from  breaking  his  neck  by  a  fall 
of  fifty  feet  to  the  ground  below,  where,  on  the 
well-worn  stones,  lay  a  cake  of  flattened  lead. 

Another  anecdote  of  the  politician  would  cause 


64  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

a  moment's  wonder  that  he  has  not  become  a  mil- 
itary rather  than  a  civil  leader  of  men.  The 
nursery  at  home  was  well  garrisoned  with  Lilipu- 
tian  soldiers,  of  whom  Charles  commanded  one 
well  organized  division,  while  his  sister  directed 
the  movements  of  another  and  opposing  force. 
These  never  came  into  actual  conflict,  but  faced 
one  another  impassively,  while  their  respective 
commanders  peppered  with  pop-guns  at  the  en- 
emy's lines.  For  several  days  the  war  continued 
without  apparent  advantage  being  gained  by  either 
side.  One  morning,  however,  heavy  cannonading 
was  heard  in  the  furthest  corner  of  the  room 
(produced  by  rolling  a  spiked  ball  across  the 
floor).  Pickets  were  called  in,  and  in  three  min- 
utes from  the  firing  of  the  first  shot  there  was  a 
general  engagement  all  along  the  line.  Strange 
as  it  may  seem,  Miss  ParnelPs  soldiers  fell  by  the 
score  and  hundred,  while  those  commanded  by  her 
brother  refused  to  waver  even  when  palpably  hit. 
This  went  on  for  some  time,  until,  as  she  obsti- 
nately refused  to  surrender,  the  young  lady's  host 
was  completely  routed  and  victory  perched  upon 
the  standards  of  her  foe.  It  was  learned,  from 
his  own  confession  an  hour  after  this  Waterloo, 
that  Charles  had,  before  the  battle  began,  glued 
his  soldiers'  feet  securely  to  the  table. 

Following  the  un-Irish  fashion  of  his  caste  — 
that  of  the  upper  classes  —  John  Henry  Parnell 
determined  to  give  his  son  an  English  education. 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  65 

He  seems  to  have  been  of  opinion  also  that  the 
process  of  Anglicizing  could  not  be  too  soon 
begun  on  the  child  ;  for  at  the  age  of  six  little 
Charles  was  carried  over  to  and  left  at  a  private 
school  near  the  picturesque  little  town  of  Yeovil 
in  Somersetshire.  There  he  remained  for  about 
three  years.  A  violent  attack  of  typhoid  fever 
seized  him  at  the  Yeovil  school,  where  he  lay  for 
weeks  at  the  point  of  death.  His  constitution 
never  afterwards  quite  rallied  from  the  effects  of 
that  dreadful  prostration  ;  and  for  years  he  was 
considered  absolutely  a  delicate  boy.  How  he 
has  borne  up  under  the  accumulated  fatigues,  ex- 
ertions, and  travels  undergone  during  his  active 
political  career  seems,  when  read  in  the  light  of 
the  fact  last  mentioned,  but  little  short  of  the 
miraculous. 

A  couple  of  years  spent  amid  the  bracing  airs 
of  the  Wicklow  hills  restored  him  sufficiently  to 
admit  of  his  being  again  sent  to  school.  The 
place  selected  was  again  in  England  —  namely,  at 
a  spot  called  Kirk-Langley,  near  the  town  of 
Derby.  Here  he  grew  apace,  springing  up  into  a 
tall  slender  young  lad.  As  the  time  drew  nigh 
when  it  was  meant  that  he  should  enter  a  univer- 
sity he  was  placed  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Whishaw,  then  residing  at  Chipping-Norton,  not 
far  from  the  city  of  Oxford.  This  reverend 
gentleman  afterwards  became  chaplain  to  the 
School  for  the  Blind  at  Liverpool,  and  enjoys  the 


66  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

reputation  of  being  one  of  the  most  celebrated 
pulpit  orators  of  that  great  emporium. 

John  Henry  Parnell  had  entered  the  university 
of  Cambridge  himself ;  and  the  same  university  he 
selected  for  his  son  Charles,  who  matriculated 
there  at  the  age  of  eighteen.  It  was  the  father's 
wish  that  his  son  should  go  to  the  bar ;  but  the 
son  had  no  liking  for  the  lawyer's  life  or  work, 
and  resolutely  opposed  the  parental  choice  of 
a  destiny  for  him.  He  carried  his  point,  almost 
as  a  matter  of  course. 

He  remained  but  two  years  at  the  university, 
and  so  did  not  graduate.  Following  in  his  father's 
footsteps,  he  went  abroad  to  see  the  world,  and 
travelled  in  the  United  States  during  the  years 
1872  and  1873. 

As  a  youth,  Charles  Stewart  Parnell  showed  no 
particular  interest  in  the  affairs  of  Ireland  —  how 
could  he  with  such  a  denationalizing  course  of 
training  as  was  inflicted  on  him?  —  and  when  he 
discussed  Irish  politics  with  his  sisters  he  fre- 
quently took  the  Conservative  side,  to  annoy 
them  in  a  harmless  way.  This  humor  sometimes 
worried  his  mother,  who,  as  she  declares,  has  an 
American,  horror  of  Toryism.  Like  his  father, 
John  Henry  Parnell,  Charles  was  a  skilful  crick- 
eter, and  when  at  home  always  took  part  in  the 
game,  which  is  much  played  in  Wicklow.  In 
those  days  he  was  something  of  a  wag,  and  would 
keep  the  tabFe  in  a  roar. 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  67 

But  in  the  November  of  1867  an  incident  had 
occurred  iu  Manchester  which  fastened  itself  on 
his  memory  —  the  execution  of  Allen,  Larkia, 
and  O'Brien.  As  he  had  entered  on  manhood, 
and  learned  to  think  seriously  of  men  and  events, 
he  dwelt  on  "the  Manchester  three "  and  their 
cruel  fate,  and  thought  of  the  brief,  pregnant 
prayer  which  came  from  their  lips  as  they  hov- 
ered on  the  dizzy  verge  of  eternity —  the  immortal 
"God  save  Ireland  !"  At  length  he  resolved  to  do 
what  in  him  lay  for  her  safety.  He  consulted  with 
his  uncle  Charles  Stewart,  then  living  iu  Paris, 
and  his  resolve  received  the  approval  of  the  brave 
old  admiral's  son.  Next  he  laid  his  intention  be- 
fore his  mother;  and  we  need  hardly  observe  that 
Mrs.  Delia  Parnell  was  not  the  one  to  oiler  him  op- 
position in  such  a  cause.  Finally  he  took  the  step 
of  joining  the  Home  Rule  League  — a  decisive  one 
in  many  ways  for  him,  but  especially  because  it 
cut  him  oiF  as  a  political  heretic  from  several  near 
relatives  with  whom  he  would  naturally  have 
ivished  to  live  iu  the  closest  unity,  political  as 
well  as  social. 

Having  thus  thrown  in  his  lot  with  the  people 
and  their  supreme  cause  —  the  cause  of  self-gov- 
ernment—  he  was  eager  to  work  and  make  sacri- 
fices in  their  behalf.  The  opportunity  soon  came. 
Immediately  after  the  general  election  of  1874, 
Colonel  Taylor,  one  of  the  members  for  Dublin 
County,  having  accepted  a  post  in  the  Govern- 


68  C.    8.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

ment,  it  was  needful  that  he  should  seek  re- 
election. The  country  was  then  full  of  spirit  and 
hope,  and  it  was  determined  that  he  should  not 
have  his  seat  without  a  fight  for  it.  But  a  candi- 
date was  wanted  who  would  be  willing  to  speud 
money  freely  on  the  election,  for  the  general  good 
of  the  cause,  and  in  the  full  knowledge  that  for 
the  expenditure  he  must  not  expect  a  seat  in  the 
House  of  Commons. 

Charles  Stewart  Parnell  was  at  hand.  He  was 
asked  if  he  would  be  the  man  in  the  gap  on  this 
occasion,  and  he  willingly  consented  to  take  up 
the  uninviting  position  of  a  candidate  foredoomed 
to  defeat. 

Though  the  contest  for  Dublin  County  was  from 
the  first  a  hopeless  one  on  the  Home  Rule  side,  it 
was,  nevertheless,  deemed  judicious  to  hold  a  pub- 
lic meeting  in  Dublin,  in  support  of  Mr.  Parnell's 
candidature.  If  such  a  meeting  could  attain  no 
other  useful  purpose,  it  would  at  least  introduce 
the  young  and  unknown  politician  to  the  people 
he  was  so  eager  to  serve.  Accordingly,  the  coun- 
cil of  the  Home  Rule  League  convened  a  meeting 
in  the  Rotundo  for  the  afternoon  of  the  9th  of 
March,  1874.  On  the  occasion  the  room  was 
filled,  early  as  was  the  hour ;  the  platform  was 
thronged  with  an  influential  and  representative 
assemblage,  including  many  members  of  Parlia- 
ment. 

As  at  this  meeting  Mr.  Parnell  made  his  first 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  69 

appearance  before  the  public,  it  is  worthy  of  some 
notice  in  this  narrative.  Among  the  M.P.'s  pres- 
ent the  most  prominent  were  Honest  John  Martin  ; 
Isaac  Butt,  then  in  reality  as  well  as  in  name  the 
trusted  leader  of  the  Irish  people  ;  A.  M.  Sulli- 
van, Mitchell  Henry,  and  Richard  O'Shaughnessy. 
It  was  pretty  generally  known  by  then  that  Charles 
Stewart  Parnell  was  a  scion  of  the  family  which 
had  produced  Sir  John,  the  stout  and  self-sacri- 
ticing  foe  of  the  Union,  and  Sir  Henry,  the  life- 
long advocate  of  Catholic  equality  ;  so  there  was 
great  enthusiasm  among  those  assembled  on  that 
day  in  the  Rotundo  in  favor  of  the  relative  of 
those  two  worthies  who  had  come  forward  to 
identify  himself  with  the  people  and  their  cause. 
The  popular  instinct,  which  is  so  seldom  wrong  in 
public  affairs,  had  seized  on  the  fact  that  the  young 
man  was  the  inheritor  of  great  reputations  and 
unsullied  memories,  and  inferred  from  it  that  he 
would  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  his  honored  pred- 
ecessors, and  that,  in  whatever  else  he  might 
fail,  he  might  be  relied  on  for  honesty  of  pur- 
pose. This  was  the  reason  why  the  room  was 
thronged  at  an  hour  when  men  in  the  city  are 
usually  minding  their  private  business,  as  well  as 
why  so  deep  an  interest  was  taken  in  the  object  of 
the  meeting. 

To  Mr.  A.  M.  Sullivan  was  committed  the  duty 
of  proposing  the  first  resolution,  which  warmly 
approved  of  the  candidature  of  Mr.  Charles  Stew- 


70  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

art  Parnell.  The  speaker  had  uttered  but  a  few 
sentences  when  there  occurred  one  of  those  striking 
coincidences,  dramatic  in  their  effect,  which  dwell 
for  ever  in  the  memory  of  beholders.  Mr.  Sulli- 
van was  expressing  the  delight  that  should  be  felt, 
and  the  hope  that  should  be  inspired,  by  seeing  the 
bearers  of  historic  names  like  that  of  Parnell 
coming  back  into  the  ranks  of  the  people  ;  when, 
just  as  the  sentence  was  finished,  a  tall,  slender 
young  man  came  through  the  doorway,  and  look- 
ing neither  to  the  right  nor  the  left,  began  quietly 
making  his  way  through  the  crowd  towards  the 
platform.  Of  those  in  the  room  probably  not  a 
score  had  ever  seen  him  before,  nor  even  heard 
his  personal  appearance  described ;  yet,  by  some 
subtle  process  of  intuition,  characteristic  of  the 
Irish  mind,  it  at  once  became  known  among  the 
mass  of  the  large  gathering  that  the  new  arrival, 
so  unostentatiously  moving  up  the  room,  was  the 
very  bearer  of  a  historic  name  to  whom  Mr.  Sul- 
livan had  just  referred.  It  was  like  the  work  of 
magic  in  its  wondrous  suddenness.  Every  eye 
was  fixed  on  the  young  man ;  people  stood  on 
tiptoe  and  craned  their  necks  to  get  a  view  of 
him;  while  cheer  after  cheer  resounded  through 
the  spacious  hall,  loud  and  long-sustained,  and 
threatening,  if  not  to  raise  the  roof  off  the  place, 
at  least  to  split  the  ears  of  all  in  the  assembly. 
Such  a  scene  of  enthusiastic  but  not  disorderly 
animation  is  but  rarely  witnessed.     Eyes  bright- 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  71 

ened,  faces  beamed,  hats  and  handkerchiefs  waved 
in  the  air,  voices  were  making  themselves  hoarse ; 
yet  all  the  while  the  object  of  the  demonstration, 
with  bent  head  and  downcast  eyes,  quietly  pursued 
his  way,  as  if  unconscious  of  the  honor  paid  him 
—  or,  if  conscious,  as  though  he  felt  it  unfitting 
to  receive  popular  rewards  before  he  had  done 
enough  to  deserve  them.  Yet  it  was  plain  that 
his  feelings  were  deeply  moved  by  his  reception ; 
for  when  he  stepped  on  to  the  platform  he  was 
pale,  and  indeed  exhibited  the  appearance  of  agi- 
tation. When,  after  the  last  burst  of  cheering, 
Mr.  Sullivan,  resuming  his  interrupted  speech,  con- 
firmed the  instinct  of  the  audience  by  saying  that 
literally,  as  well  as  figuratively,  his  friend  Mr.  Par- 
nell  had  come  among  them,  there  was  another 
enthusiastic  outburst,  prolonged  and  deafening ; 
and  before  it  was  over  some  of  the  thoughtful 
present  were  asking  themselves  if  a  great  public 
career  lay  not  before  this  modest-looking  youthful 
politician,  whose  very  presence,  unheralded,  un- 
announced, could  take  captive  public  confidence 
in  a  manner  so  remarkable.  As  for  the  mass, 
they  waite  I  with  impatience  for  the  speech  they 
expected  him  to  deliver. 

The  time  came  for  him  to  speak,  and  he  rose  to 
his  feet  to  make  his  first  public  deliverance,  amid 
a  tempest  of  cheers.  All  present  saw  that  he  waa 
laboring  under  strong  emotion,  for  his  color  camo 
and    went,    and   his    breast   heaved    perceptibly. 


72  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

We  can  fancy  the  thoughts  which  stirred  the 
fountains  of  feeling  within  him  to  their  veiiest 
depths.  He  had  resolved  to  devote  himself  to  his 
people,  to  work  for  them  with  all  his  might;  and 
here,  at  the  very  outset  of  his  career — before,  as 
it  were,  he  had  yet  actually  put  his  hand  to  the 
plough  —  was  he  receiving  an  earnest  of  the  grat- 
itude which  the  Irish  people  are  ever  ready  to 
lavish  on  all  who  have  even  tried  honestly  to  serve 
them.  No  doubt  he  knew  that  the  good  deeds  of 
Sir  John  and  Sir  Henry  Parnell  had  paved  the 
way  for  him  to  the  core  of  the  people's  hearts ; 
and  no  doubt  also  he  inly  resolved  at  that  moment 
that  he  would  leave  behind  him  at  least  the  repute 
of  being  as  much  "a  man  of  integrity"  as  any  one 
of  his  forefathers.  At  all  events,  whatever  his 
thoughts  may  have  been,  he  was  considerably  un- 
nerved ;  for  when  he  began  to  speak  it  was  in 
broken  sentences,  and  in  a  voice  that  faltered  with 
excess  of  feeling. 

It  was  a  scene  to  be  long  remembered.  There, 
on  the  front  of  the  platform,  by  the  chairman's 
table,  he  stood,  tall,  slender,  pale,  lofty  of  fore- 
head, his  lips  unquivering,  his  chin  firm  and  reso- 
lute-looking, his  bosom  laboring,  his  brown  eyes 
flashing  over  the  throng,  his  back  well  set  up, 
and  indeed  with  a  carriage  that  suggested  a  mili- 
tary training.  And  while  in  the  excitement  of  that 
moment — an  excitement  the  exact  like  of  which 
he  could  never  again  know — his  tongue  grew  un- 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  73 

willing  to  express  his  thoughts,  and  forced  him  to 
hesitate  and  to  pause,  a  painfully  intent  silence 
fell  on  the  anxious  audience.  In  the  chair  was 
O'Gorman  Mahon,  sitting  with  soldierly  erectness 
in  spite  of  his  advanced  years,  and  with  a  piercing 
gaze  fixed  on  the  faltering  novice.  From  the 
right  of  the  platform  kindly  as  well  as  "honest" 
John  Martin  surveyed  the  young  Protestant 
patriot,  with  a  benignant  smile  illuminating  his 
grave,  sweet  countenance  ;  the  homely,  genial  face 
of  Isaac  Butt  beamed  with  overflowing  good- 
nature ;  the  blue  eyes  of  Alexander  Sullivan 
glowed  in  eager  sympathy,  while  his  whole  air  in- 
dicated to  observers  an  intense  desire  to  spring  to 
the  aid  of  the  speaker,  and  to  invest  him  with  his 
own  power  of  apt  and  fluent  expression  ;  Mitchell 
Henry,  too,  from  the  left  of  the  platform,  exhib- 
ited an  unmistakably  kindly  interest  in  the  young 
speaker,  whose  native  modesty  and  excited  feel- 
ings combined  to  impair  his  delivery  of  the 
thoughts  surging  in  his  brain.  Indeed  every  eye 
was  riveted  on  him,  both  from  the  platform  and 
from  the  floor  of  the  hall ;  and  though  a  great 
many  were  criticising  unfavorably  his  first  effort 
as  a  public  speaker,  it  must  be  admitted  that  there 
was  something  in  his  appearance  which  impressed 
every  one  favorably,  for  every  one  undoubtedly 
cheered  him  without  stint. 

When  the  meeting  broke  up  there  was  a  good 
deal  of  discussion  among  groups  of  the  assem- 


74  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

blage  concerning  the  chances  of  the  candidate's 
success  in  public  life.  The  verdict  of  many,  who 
had  noted  only  his  faltering  utterance  and  his 
broken  sentences,  was,  "That  young  man  will  be 
a  failure.  He  can't  speak."  But  the  shrewder, 
who  had  noted  the  firm  set-up  of  his  back  and  the 
resolute  rigidity  of  mouth  and  chin,  more  sagely 
observed,  "There  is  something  in  that  young  man. 
It  will  come  out  in  time.  Wait  and  see.  "  Which 
section  was  right  all  know  now. 

The  Dublin  County  election  at  which  Mr.  Par- 
nell  was  a  candidate  is  hardly  worth  referring  to 
further  now  than  to  say  that,  as  was  expected,  he 
was  beaten.  It  is  very  well  known  that  the  Tories 
of  that  county  look  carefully  after  the  Parliament- 
ary register,  year  by  year;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  hundreds  on  hundreds  of  men  possessing 
popular  sympathies,  and  having  the  needful  elect- 
oral qualifications,  are  too  apathetic  to  take  the 
trouble  to  attend  at  revision  sessions  to  secure 
their  undoubted  right  to  vote.  It  must  suffice  to 
say  that  when  the  polling  day  had  come  and  gone, 
and  the  votes  cast  had  been  counted,  it  was  found 
that  Colonel  Taylor  had  received  2,122  ;  that  Mr. 
Parnell's  tally  was  only  1,141 ;  and  consequently 
that  the  former  had  been  returned  by  a  majority 
of  981. 

One  feature  of  this  contested  election  must  still 
retain  a  strong  interest  for  every  reader.  We  al- 
lude to  Mr.  ParnelPs  candidatorial  address  to  the 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P  75 

constituency.  Few  people  have  ever  dreamt  of 
referring  to  it  since  his  defeat;  and  yet  it  cannot 
but  be  important  to  know  on  what  publicly  an- 
nounced principles  he  began  his  political  career. 
They  furnish  a  safe  test  both  of  his  honesty  in 
adopting  them  and  his  consistency  in  adhering  to 
them.  We  have  pleasure,  therefore,  in  reproduc- 
ing the  main  portions  of  this  address,  which  we  are 
confident  our  readers  will  welcome  jvith  equal 
pleasure :  — 

"  Upon  the  great  question  of  Home  Rule  I  will  by 
all  means  seek  the  restoration  to  Ireland  of  our  domes- 
tic Parliament,  upon  the  basis  of  the  resolutions  passed 
at  the  National  Conference  last  November,  and  the 
principles  of  the  Home  Rule  League,  of  which  I  am  a 
member. 

"If  elected  to  Parliament  I  will  give  1113-  cordial  ad- 
herence to  the  resolutions  adopted  at  the  recent  con- 
ference of  Irish  members,  and  will  act  indcpcndentl}' 
alike  of  all  English  parties. 

"  I  will  earnestl}r  endeavor  to  obtain  for  Ireland  a 
system  of  education  in  all  its  branches  —  university, 
intermediate,  and  primary  —  which  will  deal  impar- 
tially with  all  religious  denominations,  by  affording  to 
every  parent  the  opportunity  of  obtaining  for  his 
child  an  education  combined  with  that  religious  teach- 
ing of  which  his  conscience  approves. 

11 1  believe  security  for  his  tenure,  and  the  fruits  of 
his  industry,  to  be  equally  necessary  to  do  justice  to 
the  tenant  and  to  promote  the  prosperity  of  the  whole 
community.     I  will,  therefore,  support   such  an  exten- 


76  C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P. 

sion  of  the  ancient  and  historic  tenant-right  of  Ulster, 
in  all  its  integrity,  to  the  other  parts  of  Ireland,  as 
will  secure  to  the  tenant  continuous  occupation  at  fair 
rents." 

In  addition  he  promised  to  work  for  "  a  com- 
plete and  unconditional  amnesty;"  and,  after  a 
graceful  reference  to  the  efforts  made  by  his  rela- 
tives, Sir  John  and  Sir  Henry,  for  the  good  of  the 
Irish  people,  he  concluded  : — 

"  If  you  elect  me  I  will  endeavor,  and  think  I  can 
promise,  that  no  act  of  mine  will  ever  discredit  the 
name  which  has  been  associated  with  these  recollec- 
tions." 

No  need  to  ask  now  whether  any  act  of  his  has 
since  discredited  that  name.  Has  he  fulfilled 
both  in  letter  and  spirit  those  early  pledges  given 
when  a  young  untried  man  ?  Has  he  sought  the 
restoration  of  our  domestic  Parliament  "by  all 
means"?  Has  he  acted  "independently  alike  of 
all  English  parties"?  Has  he  been  idle  in  refer- 
ence to  the  land  question  ?  Was  he  "  behind  the 
door"  in  regard  to  the  amnesty?  Has  he  neg- 
lected the  cause  of  religious  equality  in  educa- 
tion? Most  of  our  readers  remember  enough  of 
the  political  life  of  the  last  five  years  to  give  to 
nil  of  these  questions  such  answers  as  could  not 
fail  to  be  complimentary  to  Mr.  Charles  Stewart 
Parnell.  Yet  in  the  rush  and  hurry  of  the  time 
people  forget  many  things  which  are  worth  recol- 


C.    S.    TARNELL,    M.  P.  77 

lection ;  and  we  purpose  in  this  narrative  to 
recall  several  such  things  to  their  memories  — 
events  of  deep  interest  and  great  importance  to 
the  Irish  nation. 

After  the  Dublin  election  nothing  was  heard  by 
the  public  of  Mr.  Parnell  till  John  Mitchel  came 
over  from  America,  after  his  long  exile,  to  beard 
the  British  lion  in  his  den  by  seeking  the  repre- 
sentation of  Tipperary  County.  Two  circum- 
stances in  connection  with  that  event  roused 
Charles  Parnell  to  active  sympathy  on  the  rebel 
candidate's  behalf.  One  wras  the  opportunity 
given  of  striking  a  resounding  blow  against  Brit- 
ish domination  in  Ireland;  the  other  was  the  in- 
domitable, unconquerable  spirit  of  Mitchel  himself, 
so  near  akin  to  Mr.  Parnell'fl  own.  On  this  occa- 
sion he  emerged  from  the  privacy  into  which  he 
had  retired  after  the  Dublin  County  election,  in 
an  admirably  written  letter  to  the  papers,  an- 
nouncing his  hearty  approbation  of  MitcheFs 
course,  and  giving  £25  towards  the  expenses  of 
the  contest  which  Mr.  Stephen  Moore  of  Barna 
forced  on  "the  premier  county. " 

Tipperary  put  Mitchel  at  the  head  of  the  poll  by 
an  immense  majority,  but  he  died,  alas!  in  the 
arms  of  victory.  At  his  funeral  his  brother-in- 
law,  political  colleague,  and  fellow-convict,  John 
Martin,  was  seized  with  a  mortal  illness,  and 
within  a  week  followed  him  to  the  grave.  John 
Martin's  death  took  place  the  29th  of  March,  1875. 


78  C.    S.    PARNELL,  M.  P. 

Ireland  was  stricken  with  sorrow ;  but  Meath 
County  bewailed  a  special  loss,  for  in  gentle  John 
Martin  she  had  had  a  representative  as  honest  and 
earnest,  as  upright  and  firm,  as  ever  championed 
the  cause  of  "Ireland  a  nation"  in  the  London 
House  of  Commons.  To  find  a  fitting  successor 
for  such  a  man  was  no  easy  task ;  but  by  a  happy 
stroke  of  fortune  Charles  Stewart  ParneJl,  having 
been  recommended  by  the  council  of  the  Home 
Eule  League,  was  adopted  as  the  popular  candi- 
date by  a  large  representative  meeting  of  the 
electorate.  Another  Home  Ruler,  a  solicitor  of 
much  local  influence,  opposed  him  ;  and  a  Tory 
gentleman  of  the  county,  beholding  a  prospect  of 
division  in  the  national  ranks,  and  fancying  that 
he  might  be  able  to  slip  into  the  seat  through  the 
split,  also  took  the  field.  AVhen,  on  the  19th  of 
April,  1875,  the  votes  having  been  counted,  the 
declaration  of  the  poll  was  made,  it  was  found 
that  the  numbers  were  —  Charles  Stewart  Parnell, 
Home  Ruler,  1,771 ;  J.  L.  Naper,  Tory,  902  ;  J. 
T.  Hinds,  Home  Ruler,  138  ;  from  which  figures 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  mass  of  the  electors  refused 
to  play  the  game  of  the  common  enemy  by  fight- 
ing among  themselves. 

There  was  tremendous  rejoicing  in  Royal  Meath 
over  the  victory.  Enthusiastic  crowds  assembled 
in  thousands  to  give  vent  to  a  common  feeling  of 
delight ;  bonfires  blazed  in  many  quarters ;  and 
the  populace  of  Trim,  in  which  town  the  declara- 


C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P.  79 

tion  of  the  poll  had  been  made,  having  discovered 
Mr.  Parnell  walking  down  from  the  parochial 
house  to  his  hotel,  laid  lovingly  violent  hands  on 
him,  carried  him  in  triumph  round  their  own 
special  bonfire  in  the  market  square,  and  finally 
set  him  standing  on  the  head  of  a  cask  to  speak  a 
few  words  to  them.  To  those  acquainted  wrilh 
the  Irish  nature  it  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  no 
such  wild  familiarity  would  have  been  taken  with 
him  if  during  the  course  of  his  canvass  he  had 
not  become  a  popular  favorite. 

Mr.  Parnell  did  not  delay  to  receive  congratu- 
lations on  his  success.  Parliament  was  in  session 
at  the  period  of  his  election,  and,  moreover,  the 
Government  had  just  then  in  hands  a  Coercion 
Bill  for  Ireland.  Mr.  Joseph  Gillis  Biggar  had 
determined  that  this  proposed  tyrannical  enact- 
ment should  be  met  with  a  still*  resistance. 
Therefore  the  new  member  for  Meath,  who 
meant  work,  not  pleasure,  hurried  over  to  Lon- 
don, formally  took  his  seat,  and  was  in  good 
time  to  record  his  first  vote  against  the  Coercion 
Bill  on  the  22d  of  April,  1875.  As  he  was  in 
Trim  on  the  night  of  the  19th,  it  is  plain  that  he 
"did  not  let  the  grass  grow  under  his  feet,"  to 
use  an  expressive  Irish  phrase. 

The  struggle  over  the  Coercion  Bill  was  stout 

CO 

and  prolonged.  Mr.  Biggar  began  it  with  the 
famous  four  hours'  speech  which  drove  the  as- 
sembled Commons  at  Westminster  into  alternate 


80  C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P. 

flushes  of  rage  and  despair.  That  struggle  was 
the  first  taste  they  had  got  of  what  has  since  been 
called  "Obstruction"  —  a  word  which  merely  ex- 
presses briefly  that  it  is  within  the  power  of  even 
a  few  resolute  Irish  members  of  Parliament  to 
prevent  any  administration  from  having  every- 
thing its  own  way.  That  struggle  further  showed 
that  even  a  score  of  resolute  Irish  members  could 
at  least  prevent  anything  approaching  to  bad 
measures  for  their  country.  It  remained  for  Mr. 
Parnell  afterwards  to  prove  that  good  measures 
could  also  be  obtained  by  a  continued  pursuance 
of  the  same  method. 

Only  on  the  11th  of  April  did  the  bill  get 
through  the  House  of  Commons,  after  a  consump- 
tion of  Government  time  which  caused  in  Great 
Britain  a  feeling  of  positive  dismay.  There  were, 
of  course,  a  large  number  of  divisions  over  the 
various  amendments  proposed ;  and  it  is  to  be  re- 
corded to  the  credit  of  Charles  Stewart  Parnell 
that,  even  at  the  very  outset  of  his  Parliamentary 
career,  he  was  present  and  took  the  Irish  side,  in 
every  one  of  those  divisions.  Others  there  were 
of  his  colleagues,  much  more  advanced  in  years, 
infinitely  better  known  to  the  public,  and  posses- 
sing the  full  confidence  of  too  confiding  constitu- 
encies, who  were  absent  again  and  again  with  no 
better  cause  than  a  desire  to  take  their  pleasure  in 
London  drawing-rooms.  But  he  stood  up  to  his 
work  with  a  diligence  from  which  they  might  have 


C,    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  81 

taken  example.  The  rest  of  the  session  passed 
over  without  anything  remarkable  being  done  by 
tJ  the  Irish  party  "  in  Parliament ;  and  during  that 
period  Mr.  Parnell  was  by  far  more  constant  in 
his  attendance  than  the  majority  of  his  fellow- 
members.  He  did  not  address  the  House ;  but 
employed  himself  much  in  mastering  its  cum- 
brous and  intricate  forms  and  the  rules  which 
guide  its  course  of  procedure. 

Now  there  was  a  representative  of  Cork  city, 
who,  having  been  a  hot  revolutionist  in  '48,  had 
taken  refuge  under  the  stars  and  stripes,  and 
dwelt  in  America  for  many  years,  in  the  practice 
of  his  profession  of  civil  engineer.  Having 
amassed  a  fortune,  he  returned  to  his  native  land, 
and  set  up  his  habitation  on  the  banks  of  the 
beautiful  Lee.  He  had  profited  by  contact  with 
the  shrewd  American  mind  ;  and  when  he  bad  ob- 
served the  London  Commons  for  some  time  he 
came  to  a  conclusion  which  he  expressed  in  pretty 
much  the  following  fashion  :  — 

"  You  will  never  get  them  to  listen  to  you  until  you 
begin  to  take  as  active  an  interest  in  English  affairs 
as  they  take  in  Irish  ones.  I  am  too  old  to  have  the 
necessary  energy  for  the  work.  Why  don't  some  of 
you  j'oung  fellows  try  it?" 

The  man  who  said  this  was  generally  spoken 
of  with  affectionate  familiarity  as  "Honest  Joe 
Ronayne."     Peace  to  his  ashes  !     He  died  in  the 


82  0.   S.    PABNELL,  M.  P. 

Spring  of  1876.  He  loved  Ireland  well,  and 
served  her  well  too,  and  will  be  long  borne  in 
her  grateful  memory. 

Charles  Parnell  heard  the  saying,  and  pondered 
deeply  on  it.  The  more  he  thought  of  it  the 
more  it  appeared  like  a  revelation ;  until  at 
length  he  determined  that,  since  the  practised 
speakers  among  the  Irish  members  seemed  to 
shrink  from  the  labor  involved,  he  himself  would 
test  the  wisdom  of  Joe  Konayne's  dictum.  With 
this  view  he  set  himself  to  looking  out  for  some 
Government  measure  in  which  he  could  take  a 
tremendous  interest.  He  eventually  chose  the 
English  Prisons  Bill,  which  proposed  to  hand 
over  the  management  of  local  prisons  to  the  ex- 
ecutive ;  and  he  made  the  selection  with  a  view 
to  first  modifying  it  to  his  desires,  and  afterwards 
insisting  that  the  Irish  Prisons  Bill  which  was  to 
follow  should  be  modelled  on  the  precedent  thus 
afforded.  For  it  occurred  to  Mr.  Parnell  that 
the  time  of  political  prosecutions  in  Ireland  had 
not  yet  passed  away,  and  that  it  would  be  wise 
to  prepare  for  occurrences  of  the  kind,  to  the 
extent  at  least  of  saving  those  convicted  of  sedi- 
tion from  the  indignities  and  maltreatment  to 
which  theretofore  they  had  been  invariably  sub- 
jected in  Irish  jails. 

We  have  previously  intimated  that  Mr.  Parnell 
had  little  or  no  experience  in  public  speaking. 
From  native  modesty,  or  a  diffidence  in  his  own 


0.   8.   PA4NELL,  M.  P.  gg 

powers,  he  shrank  from  obtruding  himself  on 
audiences  accustomed  to  being  addressed  by  ora- 
tors, rhetoricians,  and  practised  debaters.  But 
to  carry  out  the  scheme  of  tactics  which  was 
slowly  maturing  in  his  mind  it  was  absolutely 
needful  to  gain  such  experience  ;  and  to  the  task 
he  began  to  set  himself  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Parliamentary  session  of  1876.  The  strength  of 
his  purpose  impelled  him  to  surmount  every  ob- 
stacle that  lay  in  his  path ;  so  he  made  use  of  the 
House  of  Commons  as  a  debating  society  in  which 
he  might  acquire  ease  and  fluency  of  public  ad- 
dress. 

The  first  opportunity  of  which  he  took  advan- 
tage was  of  a  kind  peculiarly  grateful  to  him.  It 
was  supplied  by  the  very  first  of  the  resolute 
struggles  to  which  some  members  of  the  Irish 
Parliamentary  party  have  since  very  often  treated 
the  assembled  Commons  of  Westminster,  and 
which  have  received  from  the  newspapers  the  ex- 
pressive designation  "scenes  in  the  House." 

The  "scene"  to  which  reference  is  now  made 
arose  in  this  way.  Early  in  each  session  the 
Commons  elect  members  to  sit  on  various  com- 
mittees having  certain  duties  to  discharge  in  con- 
nection with  the  business  of  the  House.  The 
Whig  and  Tory  party  leaders  usually  agreed 
beforehand  on  a  list  of  members  for  each  commit- 
tee, taken  impartially  from  the  ranks  of  both 
parties    in    fair    proportion    to   their    respective 


84  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

numbers  ;  with  the  result  that  when  the  elections 
came  on  each  name  was  passed  simply  as  a  matter 
of  course — such  a  thing  as  taking  a  division 
against  any  one  being  almost  unheard  of.  The 
formation  of  a  third  party — the  Home  Rule  one 
—  disturbed  the  little  arrangement  mentioned; 
and  at  the  beginning  of  1876  both  Whigs  and 
Tories  combined  totally  to  ignore  the  existence  of 
that  third  party  by  drawing  no  members  of  com- 
mittees from  its  ranks.  Some  of  the  Irish  repre- 
sentatives made  up  their  minds  to  resent  this 
grossly  unfair  course  of  the  English  party  mana- 
gers by  indiscriminately  challenging  every  name 
put  up  for  election. 

Late  on  the  night  of  Monday,  the  6th  of  March, 
there  being  at  the  time  but  six  members  of  the 
Irish  party  present  —  of  whom,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, the  ever-diligent  Charles  Stewart  Parnell 
was  one  —  a  motion  was  made  "  That  the  select 
committee  on  referees  on  private  bills  do  consist 
of  twenty-one  members."  Absurdly  few  as  were 
the  Home  Rulers  on  the  spot,  they  determined  to 
fight  the  matter  out  with  resolution,  and  to  teach 
the  Whig  and  Tory  conspirators  a  lesson  they 
would  not  soon  forget.  Mr.  A.  M.  Sullivan 
promptly  rose  to  his  feet,  and  moved  that  the 
number  of  the  committee  should  be  twenty-three 
instead  of  twenty-one,  with  the  object  of  adding 
on  two  of  his  own  party.  The  gage  of  battle 
thus  thrown  down  was  quickly  taken  up  by  the 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  V.  85 

overwhelming  majority  furnished  from  the  ranks 
of  the  two  British  parties,  united  for  the  occasion, 
as  usual,  in  doing  an  injustice  to  the  Irish.  They 
won  in  the  division  of  course,  although  on  the 
Irish  side  there  voted  several  fair-minded  English- 
men—  there  are  fair-minded  Englishmen  even  in 
the  London  House  of  Commons  —  whose  aid 
brought  the  Irish  muster  up  to  twenty-one. 

Immediately  "the  scene"  began.  Every  name 
put  up  was  challenged  in  turn,  and  a  division 
taken  on  it.  What  that  meant,  and  how  great  was 
the  loss  of  time  it  involved,  will  be  understood 
when  we  say  that  previous  to  each  division  two 
minutes  are  allowed  before  the  closing  of  the  en- 
trance door  of  the  House,  to  allow  of  members 
rushing  in  from  the  bar,  the  dining-room,  the 
smoke-room,  the  library,  and  so  forth,  to  take 
part  in  the  division,  although  they  may  not  have 
the  faintest  idea  of  what  it  is  about.  The  mem- 
bers are  warned  of  each  division  by  the  ringing  of 
bells  set  up  for  the  purpose.  When  the  door  is 
closed,  the  Commons  file  slowly  into  two  great 
corridors  known  as  "the  division  lobbies,"  one  de- 
voted to  the  "ayes"  and  the  other  to  the  "noes." 
In  the  entrance  to  these  lobbies  stand  the  re- 
spective "tellers,"  who  stop  each  member  as  he 
passes,  and  take  down  his  name.  When  the  names 
are  all  entered,  they  are  very  carefully  counted, 
all  return  to  the  chamber  where  sits  Mr.  Speaker, 
and  the  numbers  for  and  against  are  announced. 


86  C.    8.    PARNELL,   M.  F. 

There  is  usually  some  cheering  after  each  an- 
nouncement ;  and  when  that  is  over  the  House 
proceeds  again  to  business.  Each  division  ordi- 
narily takes  about  fifteen  minutes. 

From  the  above  it  will  easily  be  seen  that  if 
a  number  of  divisions  be  taken  in  a  night,  not 
only  is  "the  time  of  the  House  "  consumed  but  a 
good  deal  of  enforced  pedestrianism  falls  to  the 
lot  of  members,  many  of  whom  from  one  cause 
or  other  may  not  be  very  well  able  to  walk,  es- 
pecially in  the  small  hours  of  the  morning.  And 
it  was  precisely  to  such  consumption  of  time  and 
such  enforced  pedestrianism  the  resolute  Irish  six 
condemned  their  unscrupulous  Whig  and  Tory 
opponents.  Naturally  these  latter  became  an- 
noyed under  the  punishment  they  were  receiv- 
ing, and  a  good  deal  of  temper  was  displayed. 
It  is  in  the  midst  of  one  of  the  short  but  warm 
discussions  of  the  night  that  we  find  the  first 
record  of  Mr.  Parnell  addressing  his  fellow  Com- 
moners. The  hour  was  one  at  which  Parliament- 
ary reporters  do  not  trouble  themselves  to  take 
down  the  sayings  of  members  in  full,  therefore 
the  record  is  extremely  brief;  but  one  phrase  of 
it  is  so  characteristic  of  Mr.  Parnell  that  there  is 
hardly  room  for  doubt  that  it  was  reported  in  the 
exact  words  which  fell  from  his  lips.  The  report 
goes : — 

w  Mr.  Parnell  said  they  had  deliberately  adopted 
this  course,  and  they  would  stick  to  it" 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  87 

Significant  words  indeed,  if  his  hearers  but 
knew  their  full  meaning  when  coming  from  him. 
And  stick  to  it  he  did.  Respect  for  not  a  name 
on  the  list  was  shown.  Division  followed  di- 
vision with  a  regularity  beyond  all  praise.  The 
weary  Britishers  walked  in  and  out  of  their  lobby 
muttering  execrations  on  the  heads  of  those  ob- 
stinate Irish  who  still  kept  up  the  battle,  and 
would  not  acknowledge  themselves  vanquished. 
The  counting  of  British  noses  was  a  toilsome 
process,  there  were  so  many  of  them.  On  the 
Irish  side  the  counting  was  easy  indeed,  for  their 
English  allies  fell  away  after  the  first  division, 
and  the  Home  Rule  tellers  had  only  five  names  to 
put  down ;  after  the  twelfth  the  number  fell  to 
three. 

A  compromise  was  suggested  ;  but  the  Brit- 
ishers, who  would  have  been  glad  to  agree  to  it 
an  hour  earlier,  were  now  thoroughly  irate ;  in 
defiance  of  Dr.  Watts,  they  had  "let  their  angry 
passions  rise  ;  "  and  with  their  tremendous  major- 
ity they  were  resolved  not  to  give  way  an  inch. 
Appeals  were  made  to  the  Irish  to  cease  a  hope- 
less struggle  ;  and  then,  we  read  in  the  report :  — 

*  Mr.  Parnell  said  the  compromise  had  been  re- 
fused, and  the  fight  should  go  on." 

And  on  it  went  steadily ;  the  Irish  cool  but  de- 
termined, the  Britishers  wild  with  rage,  and  now 
and  again  giving  angry  vent  to  their  excited  feel- 
ings.    The  gallant  Major  O'Gorman  led  his  di- 


88  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

vision  of  three  into  the  lobby,  having  called  on 
the  honorable  member  for  Meath  to  be  his  co-teller. 
The  honorable  member  for  Meath  gladly  obliged  his 
honorable  and  gallant  friend.  The  thirteenth  divi- 
sion was  taken ,  and  still  the  fight  was  not  at  an  end. 
The  fourteenth  followed,  and  then  the  fifteenth ; 
and  when,  at  a  quarter  past  four  in  the  morning, 
the  result  of  the  sixteenth  was  announced,  the  an- 
griest Whig  or  Tory  of  them  all  had  been  brought 
to  his  senses.  Though  the  names  proposed  were 
every  one  carried,  and  in  that  sense  the  Britishers 
might  congratulate  themselves  on  winning  several 
petty  successes,  yet  the  end  for  which  the  few  Irish 
struggled  was  achieved — the  exclusion  of  mem- 
bers of  their  party  had  to  be  given  up  —  the  at- 
tempt to  ignore  the  existence  of  a  distinct  third 
party  in  the  House  was  defeated — and  in  that 
sense,  the  true  one,  victory  was  with  the  Irish, 
their  operations  had  been  successful,  and  they  had 
conquered  all  along  the  line. 

It  was  during  this  session  of  1876  that  Mr. 
Parnell  began  to  cultivate  that  devotion  to  the 
Governmental  estimates  for  which  he  afterwards 
became  so  distinguished.  There  were  many  "great 
debates  "  got  up  that  year  by  the  Home  Rule  party 
—  field-day  displays  which  gave  the  do-nothings 
an  opportunity  of  posing  before  their  constituents 
as  zealous  servants,  through  the  easy  means  of 
letting  off  in  the  House  elaborate  speeches  to  which 
no  one  paid  any  attention  during  their  deliverance, 


C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P.  89 

but  which  were  pretty  certain  to  find  their  way 
into  the  columns  of  the  Irish  press,  and  to  receive 
therein  an  amount  of  space  which  gave  them  a 
solid,  substantial,  responsible  look,  calculated  to 
impress  the  minds  of  admiring  but  extremely 
simple  electors  to  the  West  of  St.  George's  Chan- 
nel. Of  course  we  are  not  to  be  understood  as 
attributing  no  value  whatever  to  such  debates. 
On  the  contrary,  they  have  their  use,  and  are  in- 
deed at  times  necessary.  But  if  there  ends  the 
work  of  Irish  members  in  the  English  Parliament 
the  advantage  of  the  field-days  is  small  indeed. 
Mr.  Parnell  allowed  any  one  who  chose  to  take  a 
prominent  part  in  those  displays.  For  himself  he 
did  not  care  for  them,  lie  saw  that  hypocrites 
systematically  made  use  of  them  for  the  purpose 
of  throwing  dust  in  the  eyes  of  their  constit- 
uencies, so  he  merely  closed  his  lips  more  tightly, 
and  waited  with  what  patience  he  might  for  the 
crushing  defeat  sure  to  follow  on  the  division  — 
for  which,  however,  he  took  care  to  be  on  hand. 
But  he  did  active  work  when  the  House  went  into 
committee,  and  contrived  to  make  himself,  by  sheer 
practice,  an  excellent  debater.  And  when  he  felt 
the  needful  confidence  in  himself  he  proposed  on 
his  own  responsibility  a  motion  in  favor  of  the 
political  prisoners,  which  he  supported  in  a  telling 
speech,  powerful  not  only  in  argument  but  in  the 
unusual  boldness  of  the  tone  which  struck  the 
ears  of  the  British  Commons.     The  date  of  this 


90  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

effort  to  redeem  the  pledge  regarding  amnesty, 
given  in  his  earliest  address  as  a  Parliamentary 
candidate,  was  the  22nd  of  May,  1876. 

In  his  speech  on  this  occasion  —  which  may  be 
regarded  as  his  first  sustained  effort  at  speech- 
making —  he  made  such  references  to  the  trials 
consequent  on  the  rescue  of  Kelly  and  Deasy  from 
the  police  van  at  Manchester  as  startled  most  of 
his  hearers.  One  of  them,  Sir  Michael  Hicks- 
Beach,  then  Chief  Secretary  for  Ireland,  bore  Mr. 
Parnell's  remarks  bitterly  in  mind;  and  when,  in 
the  Home  Rule  debate  on  the  30th  June,  the  tor- 
pid English  baronet  rose  to  speak  against  the  Irish 
claim,  he  lugged  in  by  the  horns,  as  it  were,  a 
direct  allusion  to  what  Mr.  Parnell  had  said  on  the 
22nd  of  May  previously.  This  proceeding  of  Sec- 
retary Beach  was  a  distinct  breach  of  a  rule  of  the 
London  House  of  Commons  which  prohibits  mem- 
bers from  referring  to  any  previous  debate  of  the 
same  session ;  yet,  singular  to  relate,  he  was  not 
called  to  order  by  any  authority  of  the  assembly. 
However,  Sir  Michael  of  the  retentive  memory 
but  little  knew  at  that  time  the  kind  of  man  whom 
he  had  singled  out  for  a  thrust.  He,  as  well  as 
every  one  of  his  colleagues,  is  better  informed  by 
now,  and  none,  we  fancy,  would  go  out  of  his 
way  to  assail  the  honorable  member  for  Meath. 
Even  at  that  time  the  baronet  was  not  allowed 
to  remain  long  undeceived ;  for  Mr.  Parnell  rose 


C.    S.    PARNELL,  M.  P.  91 

to  his  feet  on  the  instant,  interrupted  Sir  Michael, 
and  calmly  retorted  as  follows :  — 

"  The  right  honorable  gentleman  looked  at  me  so 
directly  when  he  said  he  regretted  that  any  member  of 
this  House  should  apologize  for  murder,  that  I  wish  to 
say,  as  publicly  and  directly  as  I  can,  that  I  do  not 
believe,  and  never  shall,  that  any  murder  was  com- 
mitted at  Manchester." 

It  will  be  remembered  that  it  was  the  fate  of  the 
Manchester  Three  which  first  set  Mr.  Parnell 
thinking  seriously  of  Ireland  and  her  unhappy 
destinies ;  and  at  no  time  since  has  he  been  pre- 
pared to  listen  silently  to  any  defamation  concern- 
ing them.  The  imprudent  Secretary,  on  hearing 
the  observation  quoted  above,  seemed  for  a  while 
like  one  who  had  received  a  good  box  on  the  ear ; 
he  stammered  out  a  Parliamentary  paraphrase  of 
"I  didn't  know  you'd  take  it  that  way,  I'm  sure  ;" 
and  then,  carefully  avoiding  any  further  allusion 
to  either  the  Manchester  cases  or  the  honorable 
member  for  Meath,  addressed  himself  to  his  sub- 
ject proper. 

One  other  feature  of  Mr.  Parnell's  conduct  dur- 
ing this  session  of  1876  deserves  notice  here.  He 
attended  strictly  to  party  discipline.  Whenever 
there  were  meetings  of  the  Irish  party  he  was 
present ;  whatever  the  decision  arrived  at  by  the 
majority  he  helped  to  carry  it  out.  Nay,  on 
occasions  —  and  there  was  at  least  one  —  when 
Mr.  Butt  earnestly  wished  his  followers  to  abstain 


92  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

altogether  from  voting  on  Imperial  questions,  so 
as  to  preserve  intact  the  individuality  of  the  party, 
and  to  exhibit  its  strength  conspicuously  to  both 
Whigs  and  Tories  ;  and  when  men  like  MacCarthy, 
Downing  and  Major  O'Gorman  obstinately  refused 
to  be  led  by  their  leader,  and  insisted  on  their 
right  to  vote  with  the  English  party  of  their 
choice  ;  Mr.  Parnell  was  one  of  the  small  faithful 
band  who  followed  Mr.  Butt  in  a  body  out  of  the 
chamber  when  the  bells  for  the  division  were  set 
a-ringing ;  as,  for  instance,  after  the  debate  on  the 
proclamation  giving  to  Queen  Victoria  the  title  of 
Empress  of  India  —  a  debate  which  came  off  on 
the  11th  of  May,  1876. 

Yet  at  the  very  time  that  Mr.  Parnell,  for  the 
sake  of  union,  submitted  so  willingly  to  the  bonds 
of  party  discipline,  and  obeyed  with  such  alacrity 
the  wishes  expressed  by  the  party  leader,  he  was 
conscious  that  all  was  not  well  in  that  organiza- 
tion, and  he  had  already  begun  a  kind  of  guerilla 
warfare  against  the  House  of  Commons,  in  con- 
junction with  his  stanch  friend  and  ally,  sturdy 
Joseph  Biggar,  one  of  the  members  for  Cavan. 
He  was  also  projecting  a  sterner  struggle  for  the 
next  session.  He  had  mastered  the  "rules  of  the 
House ;"  he  had  had  practice  in  debate,  both  in 
Parliament  and  in  the  consulting  rooms  of  the 
Irish  party ;  his  diffidence  had  been  torn  away  in 
the  conflicts  wherein  he  had  engaged ;  self-con- 
sciousness had  been  driven  off,  and  in  its  stead 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  93 

there  remained  only  the  rapidly  growing  power  of 
his  unflinching  purpose.  His  laborious  attend- 
ance in  Parliament  for  several  consecutive  months 
compelled  a  brief  rest  for  a  couple  of  weeks  in 
June  ;  but  he  was  back  in  his  place  in  time  for  the 
Land  Bill  and  for  the  Home  Kule  debate  in  which 
he  so  bewildered  Sir  Michael  Hicks-Beach  to- 
wards the  end  of  that  month. 

So  far  he  was  comparatively  unknown  to  the 
general  Irish  public;  but  keen  observers  of  politi- 
cal events  had  noted  his  course  ;  and  when,  in  the 
August  of  1876,  the  Home  Rule  Confederation  of 
Great  Britain,  to  test  the  practical  value  of  the 
Irish  Convention  Act,  since  repealed,  determined 
to  hold  their  annual  convention  in  Dublin,  it 
was  Mr.  Charles  Stewart  Parnell  who  was  put 
into  the  second  chair  at  their  public  meeting 
in  the  evening,  when  the  vote  of  thanks  was  pro- 
posed to  Isaac  Butt  for  presiding,  although  there 
were  several  other  members  of  Parliament  present, 
whose  age  and  acknowledged  standing  in  the 
political  world  were  much  beyond  Mr.  Parnell's. 

During  the  Winter  of  1866-7  he  reflected  much 
on  Joe  Ronayne's  pithy  saying,  and  gradually  im- 
proved his  plan  of  operations  against  the  anti- 
Irish  majority  in  the  London  House  of  Commons. 
While  still  adhering  to  his  intention  to  take  an 
active  interest  in  purely  English  affairs,  he  saw 
his  way  also  to  working  successfully  for  the  bene- 
fit of  Irish  ones.     Since  the  formation  of  the  Irish 


94  0,    8.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

party  a  sessional  "  rule  of  the  House  "  had  been 
framed  to  prevent  measures  from  going  forward  a 
stage  after  half-past  twelve  at  night  if  notice  of 
opposition  of  any  kind  had  been  formally  given. 
It  seemed  to  be  a  most  innocent  rule  —  a  rule  de- 
vised to  let  members  go  off  home  to  bed  at  some 
approach  to  reputable  hours  —  a  rule,  in  fact, 
with  which  no  respectable  man,  be  he  member  of 
Parliament  or  not,  could  quarrel.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  however,  it  was  employed  to  stay  the  passage 
of  the  various  bills  brought  in  by  the  Irish  party ; 
notice  of  opposition  having  been  promptly  given 
to  every  one  of  them,  while  other  bills  of  all  kinds 
remained  unopposed.  The  rule  had  been  found 
to  work  so  well  in  the  way  intended  that  it  was 
again  triumphantly  passed  at  the  opening  of  the 
session  of  1877.  Forthwith  Mr.  Parnell  and  Mr. 
Biggar  indiscriminately  gave  formal  notice  of  op- 
position to  a  score  of  English  and  Imperial  bills, 
by  which  simple  tactical  proceeding  they  brought 
them  all  under  the  operation  of  the  half-past 
twelve  rule,  and  so  checkmated  the  wily  British 
schemers.  The  cry  of  "obstruction"  was  at  once 
raised  by  those  injured  innocents ;  vague  but 
dreadful  punishments  on  the  offending  pair  were 
darkly  menaced  in  the  British  prints  ;  cold  looks 
from  the  majority  of  their  own  colleagues,  and 
angry  ones  from  the  great  mass  of  British  mem- 
bers, met  Messrs.  Parnell  and  Biggar  for  their 
spirited  but  most  natural  action;  everything  was 


C.    S.    PABNELL,   M.  P.  95 

done  by  friend  .and  foe  alike  to  make  their  posi- 
tion most  unpleasant;  yet,  though  they  did  not 
revel,  as  Mark  Tapley  might  have  done,  in  the 
annoyances  that  incessantly  met  them — indeed, 
if  the  plain  truth  is  to  be  told,  they  felt  the  bolts 
keenly  enough  when  shot  by  their  own  colleagues 
— they  held  persistently  in  the  course  on  which 
they  had  entered,  and  dug  a  deep  grave  for  that 
"rule  of  the  House"  which  had  been  so  craftily 
utilized  to  hamper  the  bills  brought  in  l>3r  the 
Irish  party. 

It  is  quite  possible — nay,  even  probable — that 
there  are  many  people  who  believe  that  Mr.  Par- 
nell'szeal  in  the  cause  of  Irish  peasant-proprietor- 
ship is  a  new  thing  —  that  the  idea  is  one  he 
suddenly  adopted  merely  to  gain  access  of  popu- 
larity—  that,  in  short,  he  had  no  real  conviction 
on  the  question  when  early  in  1879  he  began  to  ad- 
vocate it  so  strenuously.  Well,  to  such  doubters 
of  his  good  faith  in  the  matter  we  commend  the 
fact  that  on  the  14th  of  February,  1877,  he  urged 
the  British  House  of  Commons  to  assent  to  t ho 
second  reading  of  a  bill  whose  provisions  were 
wholly  directed  towards  making  more  easy  the 
conversion  of  tenant-farmers  into  peasant-pro- 
prietors. The  title  of  the  bill  was  "The  Irish 
Church  Act  Amendment  Bill ;  "  and  its  sole  object 
was  to  amend  the  Church  Disestablishment  Act 
in  such  a  way  that  those  tenants  who  held  the 
glebe   lands   should   have  much  greater  facilities 


96  C.    S.    PARNELL,  M.  P. 

and  inducements  for  becoming  owners  than  the 
Act  originally  afforded.  His  able  statement  con- 
verted a  great  many  British  members  to  his  views. 
In  the  division  110  followed  him  into  the  lobby, 
of  whom  but  39  were  his  party  colleagues.  Only 
150  in  all  voted  against  his  bill.  Though  he  did 
not  win  a  complete  victory  over  British  prejudice, 
he  helped  very  materially  to  bring  the  principle  of 
Irish  peasant-proprietorship  to  the  front ;  and  in 
any  case  he  then  put  beyond  question  the  good 
faith  of  his  subsequent  advocacy  of  that  solution 
of  the  Irish  land  problem. 

Before  reverting  to  Mr.  ParnelPs  Parliamentary 
career  in  1877 — which  was  a  most  notable  one 
indeed — we  must  refer,  however  briefly,  to  a  very 
interesting  event  in  which  he  figured  prominently, 
and  which  could  not  but  have  had  some  effect,  not 
only  on  the  results  of  his  American  mission  in 
1879,  but  also  in  deepening  and  widening  the 
kindly  relations  between  Ireland  and  the  United 
States.  In  the  Autumn  of  1876  the  project  was 
mooted  of  sending  from  the  Irish  people  a  con- 
gratulatory address  to  the  States  on  the  centenary 
of  their  independence.  It  was  known  in  Ireland 
that  the  people  of  the  Union  meant  to  celebrate 
that  glorious  hundredth  anniversary  with  unpar- 
alleled displays  of  public  rejoicing;  and  with 
those  rejoicings  the  Irish,  so  long  suffering  from 
the  loss  of  their  own  independence,  could  more 
than  any  other  people  in  Europe  keenly  sympa- 


C.    S.    FAKNELL,    M.  P.  <)7 

thize.  It  was  resolved  to  put  that  sympathy  in 
evidence  in  a  form  that  would  euclure.  No  sooner 
was  the  project  mooted  in  the  press  than  its  pro- 
moters found  it  so  warmly  and  widely  taken  up 
that  they  conceived  they  had  absolutely  national 
sanction  for  the  undertaking.  *  An  enormous 
mass  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  the  Irish  me- 
tropolis adopted  the  address  "from  the  Irish 
nation,"  which  was  inscribed  to  President  Grant 
as  the  chief  representative  of  the  Union.  Messrs. 
Parnell  and  O'Connor  Power  were  deputed  as  the 
bearers  of  this  historical  document,  which  was 
richly  illuminated  on  parchment  and  splendidly 
framed. 

The  two  gentlemen  proceeded  on  their  mission 
towards  the  close  of  1876.  Arrived  at  their  des- 
tination they  found  themselves  confronted  by 
obstacles  which  hindered  them  from  fulfilling  the 
trust  confided  to  them.  President  Grant  declined 
to  receive  the  address  from  its  bearers.  If  he 
should  accept  it  at  all  on  behalf  of  the  American 
people  it  should  come  through  the  British  am- 
bassador at  Washington.  It  was  roundly  as- 
serted at  the  time  that  the  said  ambassador  had 
himself  raised  this  difficulty  for  the  two  Irish 
envoys.  However  that  may  be,  Messrs.  Parnell 
and  Power  could  see  nothing  but  a  wild  incon- 
gruity in  presenting  through  a  British  ambassador 
an  address  congratulating  a  people  on  having 
been   fortunate    enough   to   fling  off  the   British 


98  0.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P. 

yoke,  and  coming  from  a  people  who  were  them- 
selves struggling  to  get  rid  of  British  domination. 
The  President  stood  firm  in  the  position  he  had 
taken  up.  The  two  Irishmen  would  on  no  ac- 
count agree  to  the  condition  he  imposed  ;  and  to 
ordinary  observers  it  seemed  as  if  the  mission 
must  turn  out  a  conspicuous  failure. 

But  those  who  knew  something  of  Mr.  Parnell's 
energy  and  readiness  of  resource  did  not  believe 
he  would  be  so  easily  baffled  ;  nor  were  they  mis- 
taken. Cancelling  the  illuminated  parchment 
brought  from  Dublin,  he  got  another  illuminated, 
paying  for  it  from  his  own  purse ;  and  in  this 
copy  of  the  address  he  substituted  for  the  super- 
scription to  President  Grant  one  to  the  people  of 
the  States.  This  he  determined  to  have  accepted, 
if  possible,  by  the  House  of  Representatives  at 
Washington.  In  the  end  his  change  of  tactics 
proved  eminently  successful ;  although,  being 
anxious  to  prove  his  new  scheme  of  policy  against 
the  tyrant  majority  in  the  British  House  of  Com- 
mons, he  recrossed  the  Atlantic  before  the  recep- 
tion of  the  address  by  Congress. 

The  session  of  1877  was  the  most  memorable 
for  extraordinary  scenes  in  British  Parliamentary 
history.  Beginning  with  the  opposition  of  Messrs. 
Parnell  and  Biggar  to  "the  half-past  twelve  rule," 
and  concluding  with  the  famous  twenty-two  hours' 
debate  on  the  South  African  Bill,  there  occurred 
a  succession  of  unexampled  episodes,  in  every  one 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  99 

of  which  Mr.  Parnell  was  a  prominent  figure.  It 
was  from  no  love  of  notoriety  that  the  energetic 
member  for  Meath  took  such  a  conspicuous  part 
in  those  unusual  proceedings.  We  have  already 
said  that  he  knew  that  all  was  not  well  with  the 
Home  Rule  party.  The  utter  indifference  to  the 
interests  of  their  country,  displayed  by  the  majori- 
ty of  them,  was  a  perpetual  goad  to  him.  Other 
members  of  the  party  also  had  been  galled  by  that 
indifference  —  Mr.  Biggar  notably  so.  Mr.  A.  M. 
Sullivan  had  commented  on  it  in  the  press  as  deli- 
cately as  he  might,  only  with  the  effect  of  evoking 
a  tumult  against  himself  from  those  whose  con- 
sciences pointed  them  out  as  culprits.  Even  Mr. 
Butt,  although  he  totally  disapproved  of  the  new 
tactics  inaugurated  by  Messrs.  Parnell  and  Biggar, 
was  yet  most  painfully  aware  of  the  want  of  ear- 
nestness and  genuineness  of  too  many  of  his  fol- 
lowers. In  private  he  often  spoke  bitterly  about 
the  discouraging  fact ;  and  once  at  least  he  gave 
vent  to  his  feelings  in  public.  At  a  banquet  given 
to  him  in  Dublin  in  the  first  week  of  February, 
1877,  he  alluded,  in  the  course  of  a  magnificent 
speech,  to  the  remissness  of  the  majority  of  the 
party,  in  terms  which  it  must  prove  interesting  to 
the  reader  to  have  now  recalled.     He  said  : — 

"  I  hope  that  during  the  ensuing  session  we  shall 
have  a  full  attendance  of  Irish  members  —  such  an 
attendance  as  shall  enable  us  to  act  effectively  in  the 
small  hours  of  the  morning,  when  discussing  in  Parlia- 


100  C.    S.    PAKNELL,   M.  P. 

ment  the  questions  in  which  we  are  so  interested.  It 
is  not  in  great  parades  the  battle  of  Ireland  is  to  be 
fought.  The  man  does  not  serve  Ireland  who  comes 
over  only  two  or  three  times  in  the  session.  The  cause 
is  not  served  by  such  a  man,  even  though  he  take  the 
opportunity  of  making  a  grand  speech.  Many  men 
have  clone  far  wiser  in  making  no  speeches  at  all,  but 
who  have  been  always  present  at  the  hour  of  need  — 
present  at  any  hour  of  the  morning  when  their  services 
were  of  material  use  to  the  cause  of  their  country. 
Now  I  do  think  I  have  a  right  to  ask  the  attention  of 
the  Irish  people.  Give  me  whole-hearted  support  — 
give  me  whole-hearted  support  —  no  half-hearted  sup- 
port—  or  rather,  if  }tou  will,  infuse  into  half-hearted 
supporters  the  whole  of  your  own  support ;  and  then 
when  the  day  does  come,  when  the  struggle  is  passed, 
when  future  generations  will  pronounce  their  judgment 
on  the  part  acted  by  an  individual  so  humble  as  my- 
self—  and  believe  me  that  the  man  placed  in  the  posi- 
tion you  place  me  in  will  occupy  a  place  in  the  historic 
page  —  let  me  be  judged  fairly.  If  I  struggle,  let  the 
Irish  people  struggle  too,  and  then  I  will  not  be 
ashamed  or  look  with  fear  to  the  place  that  my  name 
will  occupy ." 

Here  positively  we  have  Mr.  ParnelFs  views 
powerfully  expressed ;  and  we  only  can  say  now 
it  was  a  pity  that  Mr.  Butt,  starting  with  the  same 
ideas,  should  have  veered  so  wide  apart  from  his 
young  follower  in  the  conclusions  he  ultimately 
reached.  As  for  Mr.  Butt's  appeal  for  whole- 
hearted support  from  the  do-nothings  of  the  party, 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  101 

so  far  as  its  effect  on  them  was  concerned,  it  might 
as  well  have  been  addressed  to  the  bricks  in  the 
walls  of  the  room  in  which  his  speech  was  deliv- 
ered. His  sentiments  were  cheered  to  the  echo  ; 
nevertheless  the  majority  of  the  party  remained  as 
reluctant  as  ever  to  act  up  to  them. 

Under  the  circumstances  so  referred  to  by  the 
leader  of  the  party  Mr.  Parnell  felt  himself 
thoroughly  justified  in  following  his  own  course 
for  the  benefit  of  Irish  interests,  and  especially  of 
the  cause  of  self-government,  whether  with  or 
without  the  approval  of  Mr.  Butt.  That  able  and 
distinguished  man,  astute  as  he  was  in  most  af- 
fairs, was  yet  unable  to  perceive  the  exact  bearing 
of  the  new  policy.  He  regarded  it  as  plain  and 
simple  obstruction  of  the  business  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  and  again  and  again  prophesied  that 
it  would  be  put  down.  But  Mr.  Parnell  had  no 
notion  of  taking  up  an  attitude  which  he  could 
not  maintain  ;  and  one  of  the  cardinal  features  of 
the  novel  plan  of  action  he  had  struck  out  —  one, 
too,  which  seems  wholly  to  have  escaped  Mr.  Butt's 
notice  —  was  to  endeavor  to  benefit  the  British 
democracy  while  offering  steady  opposition  to  a 
British  aristocratic  Government.  By  this  simple 
means  he  at  once  served  the  broad  interests  of 
humanity,  incapacitated  the  London  Parliament 
for  speedy  work,  and  provided  an  excellent  and 
sure-acting  buffer  which  saved  himself  from  being 
crushed. 


102  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

On  this  principle  he  stood  while  opposing  the 
English  Prisons  Bill,  to  which  embryo  piece  of 
legislation  he  had  given  very  close  study.  All  his 
amendments  (and  he  proposed  a  great  many  indeed) 
were  directed  towards  liberalizing  the  measure. 
He  wanted  to  secure  even  criminals  from  brutal 
treatment  inside  the  prison  walls,  and  from  being 
compelled  by  the  cruelty  of  jailors  to  suffer  pun- 
ishments beyond  those  to  which  they  had  been 
condemned  ;  he  wanted  adequate  supervision  and 
inspection  of  prisons;  he  wanted,  above  all,  to 
save  political  prisoners  from  the  degradations 
properly  meted  out  in  jail  to  the  murderous  burg- 
lar, the  callous  baby-farmer,  or  the  beast  convicted 
of  unspeakable  crimes.  Amendment  after  amend- 
ment was  proposed  by  him  only  to  be  lost;  and 
still  on  succeeding  clauses  of  the  bill  he  calmly 
brought  up  fresh  amendments  having  in  view  the 
same  or  similar  objects.  The  bill,  in  consequence, 
made  little  or  no  headway  in  committee  ;  and  the 
wrath  of  the  hitherto  omnipotent  majority  steadily 
accumulated  against  the  daring  offender  who  by 
his  audacious  pertinacity  was  single-handed  prov- 
ing himself  a  match  for  hundreds. 

And  just  now  Mr.  Parnell  developed  a  singular 
zeal  in  the  interests  of  the  soldiers  of  Great  Brit- 
ain, and  devoted  himself  with  heroic  constancy 
to  the  improvement  of  their  lot  by  moving  amend- 
ments to  the  Mutiny  Bill — a  measure  which  had 
been  therefore  passed  annually  as  a  mere  matter 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  103 

of  form,  and  any  provision  of  which  the  ordinary 
British  member  would  have  deemed  it  sacrilege  to 
touch. 

The  gathering  waters  of  rage  in  the  end  burst 
through  the.  dam,  aud  there  came  "a  scene  in  the 
House."  It  was  immediately  after  the  Easter  re- 
cess ;  the  hour  was  advanced  in  the  morning ; 
Mr.  Parnell  had  been  at  constant  and  harassing 
work  for  some  ten  hours ;  he  wished  to  propose 
some  new  amendments  on  a  clause  about  to  be 
discussed,  and,  as  he  had  not  the  amendments 
prepared,  and  was  besides  completely  worn  out, 
he  made  the  quite  reasonable  suggestion  that  the 
committee  should  postpone  its  further  labors  to 
another  date. 

Let  the  reader  picture  to  himself  the  scene 
which  followed.  The  London  House  of  Com- 
mons is  eighty  feet  long  by  fifty  wide,  and  is 
forty  feet  in  height.  The  entrance  door  is  at  the 
foot  of  this  spacious  apartment;  and,  facing  the 
door,  at  the  head  of  the  room,  is  the  Speaker's 
chair.  A  T-shaped  table  stands  in  front  of  the 
Speaker's  chair.  Either  side  of  the  table  rise  up 
seats,  tier  on  tier,  the  higher  each  about  twelve 
inches  above  the  one  next  below,  and  all  lying 
lengthwise  down  the  room.  Scattered  over  those 
seats  are  some  hundred  members  of  Parliament, 
most  of  them  in  the  regulation  "full  dress"  of 
London  —  white  tie,  much  shirt-front,  small  black 
waistcoat,  black  trousers,  and  black  swallow-tail 


104  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

coat.  Many  of  these  gentlemen  have  just  come 
to  the  House  from  dinner-parties  at  which  wine 
has  been  flowing  pretty  freely  ;  others  have  looked 
in  on  their  way  home  from  balls  where  copious 
libations  of  champagne  had  been  offered  up  to 
pleasure.  These  are  boisterous.  On  the  front 
bench  to  the  right  of  the  Speaker's  chair  are  half 
a  dozen  members  of  the  Government,  asleep  or 
pretending  to  be  asleep.  In  the  chair  sits  the 
chairman  of  committees,  flushed  and  angry-look- 
ing—  his  face  suggestive  of  a  wish  to  have  some 
one  laid  under  a  Nasmyth  steam-hammer  in  full 
blast.  Far  down  the  room,  to  the  left  of  the 
chair,  stands  erect  a  slim  young  man,  calm,  com- 
posed, gentlemanly,  undemonstrative  either  in 
voice  or  gesture,  and  he  i§  striving  to  address 
the  House.  The  convivial  gentlemen  converse 
quite  loudly  with  each  other,  and  in  concert,  as  if 
of  set  purpose ;  and  the  voice  of  the  speaker  is 
smothered  in  the  noise.  The  chairman  does  not 
interfere.  The  young  man  persists,  and  raises 
his  voice  above  the  din,  which  suddenly  grows 
twice  as  great  as  before.  The  speaker's  pale  face 
waxes  paler  still,  and  there  is  an  ominously  bright 
sparkle  in  his  brown  eyes  ;  further  than  this  there 
is  no  sign  that  he  is  moved  by  the  vulgar  rude- 
ness which  assails  him.  He  pauses,  standing  still 
erect.  There  comes  a  lull  in  the  designed  confu- 
sion ;  and  into  that  lull  he  interjects  a  sharp,  clear, 
terse  sentence,  not  at  all  conveying  compliments 


C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P.  105 

to  the  House.  Then  the  hilarious  young  gentle- 
men of  from  thirty-four  to  forty  who  have  been 
out  dancing,  or  dining  and  wining,  begin  to  dis- 
play the  variety  of  their  accomplishments.  Three 
or  four,  as  if  to  emphasize  that  frugality  of  na- 
ture's gifts  to  them  which,  among  their  acquaint- 
ances, causes  them  to  be  set  down  as  "asses," 
begin  to  bray.  Others  mimic  the  cries  of  barn- 
yard fowl  with  more  or  less  success.  Some 
whistle  as  if  they  were  lunatics  who  fancied  them- 
selves railway  locomotives  giving  out  a  warning ; 
some  ironically  shriek  "yaw-yaw"  —  which  is 
English  for  "hear,  hear";  others  scream  "Vide, 
'vide"  —  English  for  "divide,  divide";  and  one, 
a  sprig  of  nobility,  very  accurately  reproduces 
the  sounds  made  by  a  man  whose  stomach  revolts 
against  the  inordinate  quantity  of  strong  liquor 
with  which  he  has  overladen  it. 

Calmly,  in  spite  of  all,  the  speaker  goes  on 
whenever  a  moment's  lull  gives  him  a  chance. 
He  talks  as  argumentatively  as  though  he  were 
addressing  a  roomful  of  philosophers,  and  he  does 
not  resume  his  seat  until  he  has  finished  the  reasons 
which  impel  him  to  move  "that  the  chairman  do 
report  progress" — one  of  the  forms  for  bringing 
to  an  end  a  sitting  of  the  House  in  committee. 

And  now  occurs  a  regrettable  incident.  Mr. 
Butt  has  been  taking  his  ease  outside  in  one  of 
the  lobbies.  Mr.  Butt  is  genial  to  a  fault ;  he  is 
impressionable  too  ;    he  is  not  fond  of  fighting  at 


106  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

all ;  he  has  a  cordial  dislike  of  wounding  British 
susceptibilities  ;  and,  to  crown  all,  in  the  words 
which  Major  O'Gorman  once  applied  to  him  dur- 
ing his  lifetime  at  a  public  meeting,  "He  is  too 
soft  with  those  English  —  he  often  says  'hear, 
hear,'  when  he  should  say  'no,  no.'"  Some  one 
rushes  out  of  the  House  to  seek  Mr.  Butt,  finds 
him,  gives  him  a  garbled  account  of  what  had 
been  taking  place  inside,  and  induces  him  to 
come  in  and  use  his  influence  in  putting  down  the 
terrible  young  man  who  not  only  stops  the  wheels 
of  the  Parliamentary  machine,  and  threatens  to 
smash  it  up  altogether,  but  is  also  "doing  incalcu- 
lable damage  to  the  Home  Rule  cause."  How 
tender  the  regard  of  Englishmen  just  then  for 
"the  Home  Rule  cause  !  " 

Mr.  Butt,  without  thinking,  and  without  taking 
the  trouble  to  make  sure  that  his  informant  had 
not  deceived  him,  launches  out  into  a  denunciation 
of  Mr.  Parnell  which  earns  for  the  denouncer  the 
hearty  cheers  of  the  assembly,  the  aforesaid  con- 
vivial young  men  verging  on  middle  age  included. 
There  is  great  smiling  in  the  British  ranks  at  this 
episode,  and  much  mutual  congratulation.  Surely 
Mr.  Parnell  will  hearken  to  the  voice  of  his  leader  ; 
surely  he  is  now  effectually  muzzled  and  fettered ; 
surely  they  can  get  through  their  Mutiny  Bill  that 
night,  and  so  put  it  beyond  the  power  of  any 
Irish  member  thereafter  to  busy  himself  in  a 
matter  so  purely  and  entirely  English. 


C.    8.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  107 

These  were  ffthe  pleasing  hopes,  the  fond  de- 
sires," in  which  British  members  indulged  as  Mr. 
Butt  poured  out  with  rapid  tongue  his  heated  ut- 
terances ;  and  it  does  not  seem  to  have  occurred 
to  any  one  of  those  membeTs  that  an  Irish  mem- 
ber's right  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  settlement 
of  purely  English  affairs  has  been,  since  the 
Union,  quite  as  good  as  an  English  member's  to 
take  an  active  part  in  purely  Irish  affairs  ;  though 
the  latter  occurs  frequently  every  session. 

But  alas  for  those  delightful  speculations  !  Mr. 
Parnell,  though  grieved  at  the  tone  taken  up  by 
Mr.  Butt,  was  not  to  be  turned  aside  from  his 
purpose.  As  it  is  the  privilege  of  any  member  to 
move  alternately  the  motions, f?  That  the  chairman 
do  report  progress,"  and  "That  the  chairman  do 
leave  the  chair,"  just  so  long  as  he  chooses,  it 
came  to  pass,  the  moment  it  was  found  that  Mr. 
Parnell  had  really  made  up  his  mind  to  have  the 
further  consideration  of  the  Bill  postponed,  that 
the  House  and  the  Government  gave  way,  seeing 
plainly  that  nothing  whatever  was  to  be  gained  by 
a  continuance  of  the  fight,  and  that  nothing  could 
result  from  it  but  increased  disorder  and  confusion. 
They  had  had  some  experience  of  Mr.  Parnell  by 
that  time,  and  they  had  already  learned  that  when 
he  entered  deliberately  on  any  course  he  would 
w  stick  to  it."  The  Bill  was  therefore  held  over  to 
another  date. 

The  wear  and  tear  of  struggling  almost  single- 


108  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

hand  against  hundreds,  as  well  as  of  his  close  and 
constant  attendance  in  the  House  the  whole  time 
it  remained  sitting,  began  even  so  early  in  the 
session  to  tell  on  Mr.  Parnell's  health.  Instead 
of  prescribing  for  himself  a  period  of  rest,  he  sent 
over  to  Ireland  for  a  couple  of  his  hunters,  on 
which  he  could  every  day  take  a  spin  in  the  fresh 
rural  air,  and  so  brace  himself  up  physically  for 
the  hard  work  still  before  him. 

Meanwhile  Mr.  Butt  had  thought  proper  pri- 
vately to  lecture  Messrs.  Parnell  and  Biggar  on 
what  he  thought  the  folly  of  their  course.  He 
was  annoyed  with  the  majority  of  his  followers 
for  doing  nothing ;  but  he  was  still  more  annoyed 
with  a  small  minority  for  doing  what  he  consid- 
ered too  much.  The  members  for  Meath  and 
Cavan,  however,  while  responding  courteously, 
declined  to  have  their  hands  tied  by  their  leader 
on  matters  outside  his  jurisdiction.  The  leader 
appealed  to  the  party  ;  and  as  the  earnestness  and 
activity  of  Messrs.  Parnell  and  Biggar  was  in 
itself  an  incessant  and  stinging  reproach  to  the 
majority  for  their  total  want  of  either  one  quality 
or  the  other,  the  majority  naturally  took  sides 
with  Mr.  Butt,  with  the  utmost  alacrity,  on  the 
point  in  dispute. 

This,  of  course,  did  not  make  more  smooth  the 
pathway  of  the  two  incriminated  members,  more 
especially  as  it  gave  the  good-for-nothings  the 
very  excuse  they  wanted  for  staying  away  from 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  109 

any  divisions  Mr.  Parnell  or  Mr.  Biggar  might 
wish  to  take.  Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  it  appears 
to  have  shamed  the  party  into  fits  of  action  now 
and  again  ;  as  when,  on  the  1st  of  May,  by  offer- 
ing a  prolonged  resistance  in  the  Parnell  manner 
they  compelled  the  Government  to  raise  the  num- 
ber of  the  committee,  on  cattle  plague  and 
importation  of  live  stock,  from  twenty-three  to 
twenty-seven,  for  the  purpose  of  adding  to  it  four 
men  of  the  Irish  party ;  and  likewise  forced  them 
to  put  on  the  roll  of  the  committee  a  couple  of 
names  which  had  been  at  first  rejected.  Still 
further,  throughout  the  greater  part  of  the  session 
the  members  for  Meatfa  and  Cavnn  received  most 
valuable  aid  at  critical  momenta  from  some  half- 
dozen  of  their  colleagues,  including  Major  O'Gor- 
man,  Major  Nolan,  Mr.  A.  M.  Sullivan,  Mr. 
O'Connor  Power,  and  Mr.  G.  H.  Kirk. 

Mr.  Butt  about  April  wrote  a  lengthy  letter  to 
Mr.  Biggar,  and  subsequently  another  long  one  to 
Mr.  Parnell,  on  the  subject  of  their  new  patent 
breechloading  weapon  for  attacking  the  British 
House  of  Commons.  As  these  letters  did  not  pro- 
duce the  effect  for  which  the}r  were  ostensibly  in- 
tended, he  most  unwisely  hastened  to  publish 
them.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  were 
originally  written  with  a  view  to  eventual  publica- 
tion. They  were  couched  in  a  style  meant  rather 
for  the  Irish  people  at  large  than  for  the  two 
gentlemen  addressed.     Mr.  Parnell  replied  in  an 


110  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

extremely  able  and  convincing  letter,  intended 
just  as  plainly  for  Mr.  Butt's  eyes  only.  Before, 
however,  it  was  quite  finished,  Mr.  Parnell  was 
amazed  to  see  both  the  communication  he  had 
himself  received  and  that  which  had  been  for- 
warded to  Mr.  Biggar  appearing  in  the  columns 
of  the  Irish  press.  This  circumstance  of  course 
left  Mr.  Parnell  no  option  but  to  publish  his  reply. 
At  that  time  it  had  been  the  fashion  with  many 
people  who  conceived  themselves  very  owls  for 
wisdom  to  speak  of  Mr.  Parnell  as  a  well  meaning 
young  man,  but  very  headstrong  and  imprudent. 
We  reprint  here  the  conclusion  of  this  letter,  from 
which  readers  may  be  able  to  judge  for  themselves 
whether  the  balance  of  prudence  in  this  contro- 
versy lay  on  the  side  of  Mr.  Butt  or  of  Mr. 
Parnell.     The  passage  is  as  follows  :  — 

UP.  S. —  Since  writing  much  of  the  above  I  find 
that  your  action  in  publishing  your  letter  to  Mr. 
Biggar,  and  subsequently  that  to  myself,  will  necessi- 
tate the  publication  of  this  my  reply.  I  regard  your 
conduct  in  thus  appealing  to  the  public  upon  a  matter 
which  you  have  never  even  yet  brought  under  the  con- 
sideration of  the  Parliamentary  party  as  most  precipi- 
tate and  deplorable,  and  well  calculated  to  lead  to 
serious  dissension ;  but  as  you  have  taken  the  step  I 
must  disclaim  for  myself  the  responsibility  of  any 
damage  which  the  knowledge  of  the  serious  charges 
contained  in  my  letter  may  do  to  the  Home  Rule  party 
in  the  minds  of  the  public. 

"0.  S.  P." 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  Ill 

Throughout  all  this  controversy  and  others  that 
followed  between  the  parties,  not  one  uncourteous 
word  fell  from  Mr.  Parnell's  lips  or  pen  in  respect 
to  Isaac  Butt.  He  conducted  his  arguments  with 
unimpeachable  gentlemanliness  throughout;  and 
even  when  the  great  old  man,  then  fast  declining 
towards  the  grave,  had  sunk  in  the  popular  esti- 
mation, Mr.  Parnell  never  wrote  or  spoke  of  him 
a  single  syllable  that  could  rankle  in  his  heart  or 
cause  him  a  personal  pang.  The  consequence  was 
that  till  the  last,  however  much  he  disapproved 
of  his  policy,  Isaac  Butt  cherished  a  sincere  re- 
spect for  Mr.  Parnell. 

As  was  to  be  expected,  Mr.  Butt's  attacks  on 
Messrs.  Parnell  and  Biggar,  and  their  defences, 
when  given  to  the  public,  created  no  little  sensa- 
tion, not  only  in  Ireland,  but  in  Great  Britain 
also.  The  press  of  the  latter  country  patted  the 
leader  of  the  Home  Rule  party  on  the  back,  and 
found  out  numerous  good  qualities  in  him  which 
it  had  not  before  discovered.  There  was  joy  in 
the  British  camp  ;  for  was  not  the  old  delightful 
game  of  Irish  dissension  being  played  as  charm- 
ingly as  ever?  Mr.  Butt  was  a  very  distinguished 
man;  he  had  experience;  he  knew  what  "the 
tone  of  the  House  "  was  ;  he  respected  its  tradi- 
tions ;  his  great  ability  enabled  him  to  see  how 
damaging  even  to  Irish  interests  was  the  course 
on  which  Parnell  and  his  friends,  men  without 
brains   or  experience,   had  entered ;    though  un- 


112  C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P. 

fortunately  he  had  lent  himself  to  a  scheme 
which  threatened  "the  integrity  of  the  empire,'* 
he  was  yet  at  heart  a  constitutionalist.  Such 
was  the  style  of  comment  bestowed  on  him  by 
his  new  patrons,  the  London  editors;  and  as,  in 
truth,  he  really  believed  the  most  of  it,  his  anx- 
iety to  shackle  the  active  men  was  not  thereby 
lessened. 

In  Ireland,  however,  a  widely  different  kind  of 
comment  began  to  prevail.  Though  in  the  pro- 
British  and  the  trimming  journals  abuse  or  depre- 
cation of  "  obstruction "  was  a  staple  topic,  all 
the  organs  of  national  opinion  which  had  earned 
a  character  for  honesty  in  the  past  encouraged 
Mr.  Parnell  and  his  auxiliaries  to  persevere. 
Elderly  people,  wealthy  people,  "loyal"  people, 
and  people  by  nature  timid,  in  addition  to  the 
old  women  of  both  sexes,  alarmed  by  Mr.  Butt's 
denunciations  of  the  new  policy  as  "revolution- 
ary," shrieked  out  against  it ;  but  the  mass  of  the 
nation,  who  in  all  probability  saw  nothing  in  it 
then  but  a  means  of  punishing  the  British  Parlia- 
ment for  its  confirmed  hostility  to  Irish  rights, 
promptly  ranged  themselves  on  the  side  of  Par- 
nell and  Biggar.  In  this  state  of  affairs  Mr. 
Butt,  having  failed  to  achieve  the  purpose  in- 
tended by  the  publication  of  his  letters  to  those 
gentlemen,  convened  for  the  16th  of  June  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Irish  Parliamentary  party  to  take  the 
"obstruction"  question  into  consideration. 


C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P.  113 

Meanwhile,  undeterred  by  the  storms  gathering 
around  them  from  opposite  quarters,  the  few 
adherents  of  this  "revolutionary"  policy  went 
steadily  on  in  their  course.  As  at  a  bull-baiting 
the  remorseless  dog  seizes  his  enormous  antago- 
nist by  the  lip,  pinning  his  head  to  the  ground, 
and  with  iron  jaws  holds  him  immovable  and  help- 
less, so  they  held  the  House  of  Commons  in  an 
inexorable  gripe,  overmastering,  persistent,  unre- 
laxing.  The  House  might  bellow  as  much  as  it 
liked,  and  bellow  outrageously  it  did  pretty  often, 
but  that  was  nearly  the  utmost  it  could  do.  Now 
Mr.  Parnell  worried  it  on  the  question  of  the  re- 
lease of  the  political  prisoners ;  now  on  the  cor- 
rupting employment  of  secret  service  money  in 
Ireland;  now  on  the  Irish  Judicature  Bill;  now 
on  the  Irish  County  Courts  Bill ;  now  on  the 
army  estimates  ;  and  so  on.  Whatever  the  meas- 
ure the  Government  might  bring  on,  a  watchful 
wide-awake  Irish  half-dozen  were  present  to  see 
that  it  received  proper  discussion.  And  here  it 
may  be  remarked  that  one  of  the  rare  occasions 
on  which  Mr.  Parnell  was  called  to  order  occurred 
in  a  contest  with  the  House  on  the  1st  of  May, 
1877,  over  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Biggar  to  a 
place  on  the  cattle-plague  inquiry  committee. 
Some  paltry  snob  of  an  Englishman  had  the  au- 
dacity to  sneer  at  Mr.  Biggar  for  being  in  trade. 
At  this  insult  to  his  fast  friend  and  consistent 
colleague  the  hidden  fire  of  Mr.  ParneH's  nature 


114  C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P. 

flamed  forth.  That  mode  of  personal  attack  is 
essentially  an  offensively  vulgar  one  ;  while  Charles 
Stewart  Parnell,  from  the  crown  of  his  head  to 
the  sole  of  his  foot,  is  a  gentleman  every  inch. 
In  denouncing  the  British  snob  the  warmth  of  his 
feelings  caused  him  to  forget  his  customary  pru- 
dence, and  he  twice  fell  foul  of  the  "rules  of  the 
House."  Very  few  gentlemen  of  any  country 
would  think  anything  the  worse  of  him  for  this 
rare  exhibition  of  loss  of  perfect  self-control. 
Most  Irishmen,  we  fancy,  would  emphatically 
pronounce  the  throwing  of  prudence  to  the  wiiids 
under  such  circumstances  to  be  -'  a  good  fault." 

Once  again,  a  little  later  on,  he  was  hurried  into 
excitement  during  a  debate  on  the  Irish  political 
prisoners.  Home  Secretary  Cross  had  denied 
that  there  were  any  then  in  durance.  The  Fenian 
soldiers  still  held  he  described  as  military  prison- 
ers ;  O'Meara  Condon  and  Meledy  as  murders ; 
and  Mr.  Michael  Davitt  as  an  ordinary  convict. 
Such  a  classification  of  men,  whose  real  crime  in 
British  eyes  was  notoriously  their  connection  with 
an  organization  which  aimed  at  the  overthrow  of 
British  rule  in  Ireland,  stung  Mr.  Parnell  to  the 
quick ;  therefore  he  rose  to  reply  to  Mr.  Cross, 
and  to  expose  his  misrepresentations.  Although  a 
newspaper  correspondent  described  him  on  that 
occasion  as  speaking  "  with  the  placidity  and  gen- 
tleness of  demeanor,  and  in  the  cultivated  accents, 
which  are  the  marvel  of  strangers  who  are  shown 


U.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P,  115 

tor  the  first  time  the  terrible  twin  obstructive," 
the  outward  calm  but  hid  a  volcanic  working  be- 
neath, and  after  a  few  sharp  sentences,  brimming 
over  with  indignation,  yet  couched  in  language  of 
the  kind  considered  not  inadmissible  in  that  tem- 
ple of  manners,  the  London  House  of  Commons, 
he  was  compelled  by  the  strength  of  his  emotions 
to  bring  his  remarks  to  a  close  with  the  statement 
that  he  could  not  trust  himself  to  speak  further. 
And  the  stolid  British  majority,  who  had  been 
accustomed  to  think  him  in  nature  as  not  unlike 
one  of  themselves,  incapable  of  warm  sympathies 
or  generous  feelings,  received  that  statement  with 
derisive  shouts  of  "Oh!"  The  broader  purpose 
of  working  out  his  tactics  skilfully — the  only 
way  in  which  they  could  be  worked  —  made  him 
check  himself  before  he  had  infringed  his  privi- 
leges as  a  member  of  Parliament;  and  in  a  little 
while  after,  on  the  same  night,  he  was  able  to 
assail,  with  the  most  absolute  self-control,  but 
with  a  sharpness  which  was  certainly  not  blunted 
by  Secretary  Cross'  earlier  observations  on  Irish 
political  prisoners,  the  whole  system  of  spies  and 
K informers "  in  Ireland,  in  a  debate  which  he 
raised  on  the  estimates  for  "secret  service  money." 
The  16th  of  June  came  ;  and  oh  !  what  a  flock- 
ing to  the  London  chambers  of  the  Irish  party 
there  was  of  its  members.  It  had  got  bruited 
among  them  that  Parnell  and  Biggar  and  the 
other  troublesome  persons   who   wanted    activity 


116  0.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

and  earnestness  and  courage  in  Irish  members  of 
Parliament  were  now  at  last  to  be  definitely 
squelched.  Men  whom  the  most  urgent  requisi- 
tion of  their  leader  could  not  bring  thither  when 
it  was  only  a  question  of  taking  counsel  how  best 
to  forward  some  Irish  interest  in  Parliament,  were 
prompt  in  attendance  when  the  object  in  view  was 
the  highly  important  one  of  annihilating  such  ex- 
hibitions of  zeal  in  the  country's  service  as  were  a 
standing  reproach  to  those  members  who  did  not 
care  one  jot  about  the  country  or  its  interests  so 
long  as  confiding  constituencies  could  be  found  to 
elect  political  hypocrites  to  represent  them.  The 
do-nothings  turned  up  in  alarming  force  at  the 
meeting,  now  at  last  resolved  to  "do  something" 
— not  for  Ireland  ;  oh  !  no  !  but  for  the  ridding 
their  own  precious  selves  of  a  perpetual  annoy- 
ance. The  contrast  between  activity  and  indo- 
lence, between  earnestness  and  indifference,  be- 
tween steady  application  to  Parliamentary  duty 
and  almost  equally  steady  neglect  of  it  —  this  was 
setting  up  a  totally  new  example,  establishing  an 
alarming  precedent,  instilling  into  the  minds  of 
Irish  electors  the  pernicious  notion  that  they 
ought  to  expect  real  service  from  their  represent- 
atives ;  and  of  course  the  sooner  such  a  mon- 
strous conception  of  political  duty  was  smothered 
the  better.  To  those  London  chambers  of  the 
Irish  party  also  crowded  the  old  Whigs  who  had 
masqueraded    as    Home    Rulers    at    the    general 


C.    S.    PARNELL,  M.  P.  117 

election  of  1874,  and  who,  so  long  as  a  Tory  Gov- 
ernment was  in  office,  might  be  depended  on  to 
appear  pretty  constantly  in  opposition  to  it  — 
whether  as  followers  of  Isaac  Butt  or  of  the  Mar- 
quis of  Hartington  mattered  but  little  for  the  time. 
To  the  same  chamber  came  also  Hie  more  limited 
number  of  Tories  who  had  donned  the  Home  Rule 
cloak  to  secure  election,  but  who  were  equally 
anxious  with  the  two  other  classes  to  put  down 
the  men  that  were  lunatic  or  idiotic  enough  to 
keep  Ireland  —  Ireland  only — in  view  in  the  Brit- 
ish Parliament. 

Yet  it  is  somewhat  consoling  to  remember  that 
a  very  considerable  number  of  the  Irish  Parlia- 
mentary party  who  were  not  able  conscientiously 
to  accept  the  new  policy,  or  did  not  quite  under- 
stand all  its  bearings,  made  it  their  business  to 
attend  this  meeting  of  the  16th  of  June,  1877,  to 
interpose  themselves  between  the  "too  active" 
minority  and  the  too  idle  majority.  Their  well- 
meant  services,  however,  were  not  needed  at  the 
time.  Isaac  Butt  was  no  fool.  Ho  found  on  this  oc- 
casion forty  of  his  nominal  followers  surrounding 
him  —  a  number  by  far  greater  than  he  could  ordi- 
narily gather  around  him  in  what  he  deemed  crises 
of  the  very  first  importance  in  Irish  affairs.  He 
knew,  too,  how  reedlike  was  the  support  afforded 
him  by  many  of  those  who  had  answered  with 
such  unusual  alacrity  his  present  summons.  And 
he  knew  that  the  one  complaint  he  had  to  make 


118  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

against  the  Parnell  and  Biggar  handful  was  what 
he  unfortunately  considered  too  much  zeal.  Con- 
sequently, when  they  explained  the  motives  which 
had  moved  them  in  the  Parliamentary  action  to 
which  he  took  exception,  and  corrected  the  false 
impression  of  it  which  he  had  conceived,  there 
was  an  end  for  the  moment  of  all  controversy. 
No  resolution  condemnatory  of  them  was  passed  ; 
but  instead  was  one  inculcating  the  need  of  more 
frequent  meetings  of  the  party,  so  as  to  secure 
more  unity  and  greater  activity  in  its  proceedings. 
Vain  hopes  !  delusive  dreams  !  Wild  horses,  un- 
tamed elephants,  could  not  have  dragged  back 
again  to  those  chambers  wherein  that  resolution 
was  unanimously  voted  several  of  those  who  as- 
sented to  it  that  day.  They  had  gone  there  to 
assist  in  putting  down  inconvenient  activity ;  in 
the  turn  that  affairs  took  they  were  left  only  the 
alternative  of  exposing  their  hypocrisy  or  agree- 
ing to  the  resolution ;  they  chose  the  latter  course, 
but  apparently  with  a  mental  reservation  which 
gave  them  liberty  to  exempt  themselves  from  the 
scope  of  the  resolution.  At  all  events,  the  rooms 
of  the  party  were  but  seldom  afterwards  enlight- 
ened with  their  presence. 

The  wonderful  effect  of  this  famous  meeting  in 
restraining  those  whom  it  was  called  together  to 
handcuff  will  presently  be  seen.  A  few  days  after 
it  was  held,  however,  an  event  happened  which 
contributed  to  give  some  extraordinary  develop- 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  119 

menls  to  the  new  Irish  policy  in  the  British  Par- 
liament. This  was  the  election  of  Mr.  Frank 
Hugh  O'Donnell  as  member  for  Dungarvan  on 
the  23d  of  June,  1877. 

Mr.  O'Donnell  was  a  graduate  of  the  Queen's 
College,  Galway,  and  a  man  of  varied  accom- 
plishments and  much  ability,  who  had  gravitated 
towards  the  London  press.  For  years  he  had 
waged  relentless  war  against  the  mixed  system  of 
education,  especially  as  illustrated  in  the  Queen's 
Colleges ;  and  year  after  year  he  had  undevi- 
atingly  attended  the  convocation  of  the  Queen's 
University  to  assail,  generally  single-handed,  in 
the  teeth  of  an  adverse  majority,  its  fundamental 
principle.  As  he  never  had  more  than  one  sup- 
porter on  these  occasions,  and  usually  had  not 
even  one  ;  and  as  the  other  members  of  convoca- 
tion, from  the  occupant  of  the  chair  to  the  young- 
est graduate,  were  zealous  adherents  of  the 
"mixed  system,"  it  is  easy  to  see  what  hardihood 
he  must  have  had  to  stand  up  for  the  right  in  a 
gathering  so  completely  adverse,  and  to  fancy 
what  hootings,  jeerings,  clamor  of  all  kinds — to 
say  nothing  of  perpetual  calls  to  order  by  the 
chairman  —  he  had  to  endure. 

One  who  had  received  such  rough  but  suitable 
training  was  eminently  a  man  for  the  new  Parlia- 
mentary policy  ;  and  as  if  by  natural  instinct  Mr. 
O'Donnell  took  to  it.  He  became  at  once,  and 
continued  to  be,  one  of  the  most  efficient  of  Mr, 


120  C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P. 

Parn ell's  aids.  There  was  no  fear  whatever  that 
the  wildest  tumult  of  the  London  Commons  would 
put  him  down.  As  the  stormy  petrel  is  at  home 
when  elemental  fury  is  at  its  highest,  so  was  Mr. 
O'Donnell  amid  the  hurricane  rage  of  a  bitterly 
hostile  assembly. 

He  had  formally  taken  his  seat  but  a  few  da}^s 
when  he  gave  his  fellow  Commoners  a  taste  of  his 
quality.  The  date  was  the  night  of  the  2nd  July, 
or  rather  the  morning  of  the  3d.  The  hour  was 
one  o'clock.  The  occasion  was  the  wish  of  the 
few  watchful,  industrious  Irish  members  present 
to  protest  against  the  denial  to  Ireland  of  volun- 
teer corps.  The  opportunity  afforded  was  the 
vote  for  the  British  volunteers  in  the  army  esti- 
mates. 

At  one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  Captain  Nolan 
(who  has  since  attained  the  rank  of  Major) ,  whose 
courage  and  fidelity  are  worthy  of  all  honor, 
opened  the  ball  by  moving  "that  the  chairman  do 
report  progress/'  His  object  was  to  secure  the 
bringing  on  of  the  vote  for  the  British  volunteers 
at  an  hour  when  a  discussion  on  the  Irish  side  of 
the  question  could  be  raised  with  effect ;  it  being 
notorious  that  in  the  small  hours  of  the  morning 
the  British  Commons  are  utterly  impatient  of  and 
adverse  to  discussion,  wanting  to  have  done  with 
business  of  any  kind,  however  important,  and  to 
go  home  to  bed ;  and  it  being  almost  equally  no- 
torious that  Government  business  which  is  likely 


C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P.  121 

to  evoke  discussion,  comes  on,  by  some  singular 
chance,  at  those  same  small  hours. 

And  here  it  may  be  remarked  that  the  essence 
of  what  is  now  commonly  called  the  Parnell  policy 
consists  in   having,  on  every  occasion  when  it  is 
brought  in  play,  a  distinct,  appreciable,  and  reas- 
onable purpose.     Its  strength  lies  in  the  fact  that, 
while  every  form  of  Parliament  is  to  be  availed 
of,  nothing  is  to  be  done  blindly,  or  without  an 
object    readily    comprehensible    by    at    least   the 
leaders  of  the  House.     It  is  elastic  also  as  well  as 
strong,  for  it  can  be  employed  on  every  variety 
of  topic  that  can   come   before  the   Commons  at 
Westminster.     Also  —  since   the   Union  compels 
the  return  of  Irish  members  to  the  British  Parlia- 
ment—  so  long  as  the  Union  lasts  (and  that  is  to 
say,  so  long  as  Irish  members  are  sent  to  that  Par- 
liament), there  is  no  possible  way  of  checking  the 
employment  of   that  policy,  even  a  little,  except 
by  restricting  the    liberties  of  British  members 
themselves.     For  the  Act  of  Union   puts    Irish 
members  on  precisely  the  same  footing  as  those  of 
Great  Britain  ;  and  any  distinction  made  between 
them   would  tear   up   the   last  shred  of  that  Act. 
Even  the  alternative  of  ejecting  from  the  House 
obnoxious  individual  Irish  members,  while  a  prece- 
dent full  of  evil  possibilities  for  the  British  them- 
selves,  would    be  useless   in  presence  of   a   de- 
termined spirit  in  the  Irish  constituencies  ;  since 
the  seats  made  vacant  could  be  easily  filled  —  and 


122  C.    S.    PARNELL,  M.  P. 

would  certainly  be  in  such  circumstances — by 
men  who  would  very  soon  be  at  least  as  obnoxious. 
Again,  with  half  a  hundred  members  working  in 
concert  on  the  principles  invented  by  Mr.  Parnell, 
it  would  even  be  impossible  to  single  out  indi- 
vidual members  for  censure  or  punishment ;  and 
therefore  a  really  resolute  Irish  party  might  tri- 
umphantly exclaim  to  the  most  intolerant  British 
majority  that  ever  existed  since  1801,  "Now,  infi- 
del, I  have  thee  on  the  hip  ! "  In  short,  even  to 
cripple  "  obstruction, "  carried  out  systematically 
and  skilfully  by  only  a  score  of  members  acting 
on  a  common  understanding,  the  majority  must 
cripple  themselves  also,  must  part  with  valuable 
priviliges,  materially  impair  not  only  the  prestige 
and  the  freedom  of  the  London  Parliament,  but 
its  strength  as  a  bulwark  of  English  liberties  as 
well,  and  surrender  portion  of  its  power  of  re- 
sisting the  encroachments  of  tyranny. 

There  were  over  a  hundred  British  members  in 
the  House,  the  Home  Rulers  were  but  seven  in  all, 
when  Captain  Nolan  rose  to  his  feet.  The  Brit- 
ish majority  resented  the  intrusion  of  Irish  mem- 
bers in  their  affairs.  But  the  Irish,  few  as  they 
were,  were  resolved  to  win.  Captain  Nolan 
having  withdrawn  his  motion,  Mr.  O'Connor 
Power  took  it  up.  Of  course  he  was  beaten  on  a 
division.  Mr.  O'Donnell  promptly  rose  to  move 
w  that  the  chairman  do  leave  the  chair."  A  hide- 
ous din  greeted  him  as  he  went  on  to  speak  to 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  123 

his  motion.  Some  of  the  gentlemen  of  "the  first- 
assembly  in  the  world"  began  those  imitations  of 
the  speech  of  the  lower  animals  at  which  they  are 
such  adepts ;  others  laughed  loudly  in  derision  ; 
others,  again,  indulged  in  inarticulate  shouts  ;  and 
others  still,  as  the  tremendous  uproar  went  on, 
exclaimed,  "let  us  see  how  much  he  will  stand." 
Such  terms  as  "hypocritical,"  "shabby,"  and  such 
choice  flowers  of  rhetoric  as  "pigs  could  obstruct," 
were  bandied  about  amid  the  tumult  of  the  night ; 
and  the  chairman  of  committees,  alarmed  at  the 
state  of  violent  disorder  to  which  the  House  in  its 
anger  had  reduced  itself,  interposed  sharply  sev- 
eral times  to  restrain  the  more  violent,  and  even 
threatened  to  briug  the  beastly  conduct  of  one 
"noble  lord"  before  the  House.  The  great  British 
Parliament,  in  fact — the  model  of  representative 
institutions  all  over  the  world  —  had  been  turned 
for  the  nonce  into  a  Bedlam. 

Those  who  were  anxious  to  know  how  much  Mr. 
O'Donnell  "could  stand"  soon  discovered  that  he 
could  stand  a  great  deal  indeed.  When  he  had 
been  on  his  legs  about  half  an  hour,  and  a  partial 
lull  in  the  storm  had  been  obtained  through  the 
chairman's  exertions,  he  paralyzed  his  British 
audience  by  coolly  observing  that  as  they  had  not 
been  able  to  hear  his  remarks  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  make  them  over  again.  And  he  was  as 
good  as  his  word.  He  began  his  speech  anew, 
and  unconcernedly  went  over  the  whole  ground  he 


124  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

had  before  traversed ;  and  when  at  a  quarter  past 
two  he  resumed  his  seat  he  had  infused  into  the 
breasts  of  his  would-be  tormentors  a  feeling  lu- 
dicrously akin  to  positive  terror. 

The  House  had  been  gradually  receiving  acces- 
sions during  these  proceedings  until  the  majority 
reached  about  one  hundred  and  fifty.  The  Irish 
still  fought  on.  Some  British  members,  unwilling 
to  give  way  to  the  audacious  Hibernian  handful,  yet 
anxious  to  go  home,  had  the  House  "  counted," 
but  when  forty  members  were  found  to  be  present 
the  sitting  went  on.  Major  O'Gorman  followed 
Mr.  O'Donnell  with  a  motion  "  that  the  chairman 
report  progress  ;  "  when  he  was  beaten  Mr.  O'Con- 
nor Power  moved  "that  the  chairman  leave  the 
chair ; "  when  he  was  beaten  Mr.  Richard  Power 
moved  that  progress  be  reported  ;  when  he  was 
beaten  Mr.  Parnell  moved  the  chairman  out  of  the 
chair;  when  he  was  beaten  Mr.  O'Connor  Power 
moved  to  report  progress.  Thus  the  British 
majority  were  kept  marching  and  countermarch- 
ing in  and  out  of  the  division  lobby  pretty  actively 
for  an  hour. 

About  this  time,  three  o'clock  having  been 
reached,  the  chairman  felt  that  unsupported  nature 
could  not  sustain  itself  in  such  distressing  circum- 
stances, so  he  had  refreshments  brought  to  him 
into  the  House,  and  consumed  them  with  what 
relish  he  could  at  the  table  in  front  of  the  chair. 
The  Speaker,  whose  office  compelled  him  to  wait 


C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P.  125 

for  the  formal  adjournment  of  the  sitting,  was 
asleep  in  another  chamber.  Much  talk  went  on, 
much  bandying  of  more  or  less  polite  abuse,  much 
crimination  and  recrimination  ;  and  in  the  mean- 
time the  short  Summer  night  had  slipped  away, 
the  morning  sun  was  streaming  in  through  the 
windows,  and  at  four  o'clock  the  gas  was  turned 
off.  During  the  talk  two  other  efforts  to  count 
out  the  House  had  been  made  without  effect.  The 
marching  and  countermarching  began  again.  Mr. 
Parnell  moved  to  report  progress  ;  Mr.  O'Donnell 
that  the  chairman  leave  the  chair.  These  were 
followed  in  quick  succession  by  corresponding 
motions  from  Mr.  O'Connor  Power,  Major  O'Gor- 
man,  and  Mr.  Richard  Power;  when  another 
effort  to  count  out  the  House  was  made  ;  but  still 
there  were  found  over  forty  brave  Britons  who 
would  perish  on  the  spot  rather  than  surrender. 

The  divisions  had  been  going  on  in  a  grim, 
business-like  way  for  an  hour,  when  Mr.  Parnell 
remarked  that  Irish  questions  were  treated  there 
in  a  half-contemptuous  way,  and  that  by  deter- 
mined action  they  would  force  on  the  House  the 
duty  of  treating  them  properly.  Whereupon  an 
English  member,  rejoicing  in  the  name  of  Blake, 
rather  irrelevantly  retorted  that  Mr.  Parnell  had 
spoken  disrespectfully  of  Mr.  Speaker ;  to  which 
charge  Mr.  Parnell,  in  calm  accents,  gave  a  "dis- 
tinct denial"  and  "the  flattest  contradiction."  A 
hurricane  of  uproar  and    confusion   supervened  ; 


126  G.    S.    DARNELL,   M.  P. 

and  when  the  chairman  had  calmed  it  down  some- 
what the  walking  in  and  out  of  the  lobbies  recom- 
menced. Mr.  Richard  Power  and  Mr.  Parnell 
moved  the  usual  motions.  Another  futile  effort 
was  made  for  a  count-out ;  then  the  division  on 
Mr.  ParnelPs  motion  was  taken,  and  announced 
at  five  minutes  to  seven.  Mr.  O'Connor  Power 
at  once  moved  that  progress  be  reported.  Some 
talk  ensued,  in  the  course  of  which  Sir  John 
Lubbock  complained  that  only  five  Irish  members 
pursued  this  unprecedented  course ;  whereupon 
Mr.  Parnell  enlivened  matters  by  playfully  re- 
minding him  that  there  is  luck  ill  odd  numbers; 
and  Mr.  Whalley  —  kindly  old  soul  that  he  was, 
even  if  sometimes  wrong-headed  —  who  had  man- 
fully stood  by  the  Irishmen  all  the  livelong  night, 
threw  in  a  scrap  of  the  comic  element  by  censur- 
ing Ministers  for  having  kept  them  there  all  night 
"at  the  risk  of  their  lives. " 

The  House  was  again  counted.  Only  thirty-six 
were  found  present ;  so  the  Speaker  was  roused 
from  his  slumbers  and  came  into  the  Commons 
chamber.  Having  again  counted  the  House,  and 
found  only  thirty  present,  he  declared  the  sitting 
adjourned. 

It  is  now  twelve  minutes  past  seven.  The 
warm  glare  of  the  July  morning  fills  the  large 
apartment;  and  there,  "like  eagles  in  the  sun, 
the  Irish  stand/'  cheering  loudly  —  "the  field  is 
fought  and  won. ,J     They  have  gained  their  point. 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  127 

By    sheer    resolution    and    endurance    they    have 
beaten  the  domineering  British  majority. 

As  may  be  supposed,  the  all-night  contest  of 
the  3rd  July,  and  the  Irish  victory  in  which  it  re- 
sulted, roused  to  a  white  heat  of  fury  the  indig- 
nant blood  of  every  true  Briton.  "If  this  kind  of 
thing  is  to  go  on,"  was  the  universal  cry  from 
Land's  End  to  John-o'-Groats,  "what  is  to  be- 
come of  the  most  venerated  of  our  institutions? 
Parliament  will  be  brought  into  permanent  con- 
tempt ;  its  prestige  is  already  fearfully  lowered  ; 
its  morale  has  even  now  received  alarming  shocks 
from  which  it  must  take  time  to  recover ;  and 
where  will  it  all  end  if  'obstruction'  be  persisted 
in?  Why,  the  Irish  will  be  virtual  dictators  of 
the  House.  They  will  destroy  it  altogether,  or 
compel  it  to  let  go  its  grasp  on  their  country." 

British  editors,  in  especial,  saw  all  this  quite 
clearly,  and  for  weeks  did  not  tire  of  ringing  the 
changes  on  it.  Not  only  in  the  London  but  in 
the  provincial  press  rabid  leaders  against  "the  ob- 
structives "  were  cvery-day  occurrences.  "Ob- 
struction" should  be  put  down  with  a  high  hand; 
it  should  be  stamped  out,  etc.,  etc.  This  was 
the  burden  of  their  monotonous  song.  But  how? 
The  question  was  a  greater  puzzle  than  the  riddle 
of  the  Sphinx  in  the  antique  days.  All  the  writers 
sagely  and  solemnly  asseverated  that  "something 
should  be  done  ;"  but  not  one  of  them  could  dis- 
cover what  that  something  could  possibly  be.     The 


128  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

incriminated  members  had  simply  exercised  the 
privileges  of  their  position.  It  was  patent  that  to 
punish  them  for  so  doing  would  not  only  wear  an 
ugly  look  in  foreign  eyes,  but  would  establish  a 
bad  precedent  which  might  afterwards  be  em- 
ployed to  the  detriment  of  British  liberties.  There 
could  be  no  possibility  of  hiding  from  the  nations 
abroad  aught  in  connection  with  scenes  which  had 
attracted  the  gaze  of  the  civilized  world  ;  nor  does 
history  offer  any  guarantee  that  there  may  not 
soon  arise  a  designing  British  Minister  of  Imperial 
proclivities,  misleading  genius,  and  mastery  of 
base  arts,  who,  backed  by  a  blind  majority, 
would  not  scruple  to  use  any  weapon  he  found 
ready  to  his  grasp  to  crush  a  handful  struggling  in 
the  House  of  Commons  to  preserve  the  rights  so 
hardly  won  for  themselves  by  the  British  people. 
Therefore  the  efforts  made  to  crack  the  exceed- 
ingly hard  nut  of  "  obstruction  "  got  no  farther  in 
the  press  than  that  "something  should  be  done." 

But  if  the  editors  were  furious,  what  term  can 
describe  the  feelings  surging  in  the  breasts  of  the 
mass  of  members  of  Parliament?  If  howling  and 
clamor,  and  all  the  ways  of  a  cowardly  mob,  short 
of  actual  personal  violence,  could  vanquish  the 
Irish  enemy,  there  would  have  been  a  speedy  end 
to  the  trouble.  Those  rude  weapons,  however, 
had  been  tried  and  been  found  of  no  avail.  Never- 
theless it  was  clear  that  "something  should  be 
done ; "  so  the  active  brain  of  one  Mr.  Puleston  — 


C.    S.    TARNELL,    M.  P.  129 

who  strangely  blends  in  himself  British  member- 
ship, Yankee  birth  and  connections,  and  violent 
Tory  leanings  —  was  set  to  work. 

On  the  4th  of  July  he  came  down  to  the  House 
with  what  he  thought  was  an  eighty-ton  gun, 
warranted  to  blow  up  "  the  obstructives "  at  a 
single  discharge,  and  all  his  own  invention  too. 
Its  charmingly  simple  principle  was  to  entrust  to 
a  majority  of  the  House  of  Commons  the  power  of 
crushing  a  minority  at  will.  Bnt  this  monster 
piece  of  ordnance,  while  no  doubt  very  effective 
for  the  purpose  Mr.  Puleston  had  in  mind,  was 
unfortunately  too  sweeping  in  its  discharge,  and 
could  not  be  counted  on  to  avoid  blowing  up 
others  than  mere  Irish  members.  The  House  very 
soon  saw  that  this  was  the  case  ;  and  the  conse- 
quence was  that  Mr.  Puleston's  eighty-ton  gun 
was  rejected  amid  general  laughter. 

The  English  Tory  of  the  name  of  Blake — per- 
haps smarting  under  that  w  flattest  contradiction" 
which  he  had  received  from  Mr.  Parnell  on  the 
morning  of  the  3rd  —  returned  to  the  charge  on 
the  4th,  burning  for  the  opportunity  of  bringing 
the  member  for  Meath  to  book  about  his  alleged 
disrespectful  language  concerning  the  Speaker  of 
the  House,  Being  on  that  occasion  foiled  he 
made  another  essay  on  the  5th.  The  forms  of  the 
House  stood  in  his  way ;  but  Mr.  Parnell  was 
quite  anxious  to  accommodate  Mr.  Blake;  and, 
rising  in  his  place,  blandly  observed  that  if  the 


130  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

House  wished  for  explanation  on  the  matter,  *  he 
did  not  in  any  way  wish  to  stand  in  the  way  of 
the  House  getting  that  explanation."  The  Speaker 
himself  closed  the  incident  for  the  time ;  but  on 
the  6th  Mr.  Parnell  made  an  early  opportunity 
for  giving  his  explanation,  and  so  disposed  of  Mr. 
Blake  and  his  motion. 

The  same  night,  Mr.  Biggar  and  he,  as  com- 
posed as  if  nothing  had  ever  happened  out  of  the 
usual  course,  and  as  if  they  had  not  been  besides 
the  theme  of  numberless  hostile  leading  articles  in 
the  papers  for  several  mornings,  quite  calmly  and 
deliberately  opposed  two  English  bills,  taking 
several  divisions  on  motions  to  stop  their  progress 
in  committee,  and  in  the  end  were  again  victo- 
rious. Further,  some  English  "gentleman"  hav- 
ing spoken  of  Mr.  Biggar  as  a  "blackguard" 
during  the  struggle,  Mr.  Parnell  had  him  at  once 
before  the  Speaker,  and  compelled  him  to  with- 
draw and  apologize  for  using  the  offensive  epithet. 

About  this  period  the  Government  was  very 
anxious  to  push  on  two  Irish  measures  of  its  own 

—  the  Judicature  Bill  and  the  County  Courts  Bill 

—  many  of  the  provisions  of  both  of  which  had 
earned  the  condemnation  of  the  Irish  Parliament- 
ary party,  or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  of  such  of 
them  as  took  the  trouble  to  attend  even  moder- 
ately to  their  public  duties.  Whenever  any  of 
the  party  were  inclined  for  work,  Mr.  Parnell 
worked  with  them  heartily.     In  conjunction  with 


C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P.  131 

them  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  issues  raised  on 
the  Judicature  Bill,  besides  dragging  up  the 
Phoenix  Park  outrage  on  the  estimates  for  the 
metropolitan  police ;  making  efforts  to  improve 
the  constitution  of  the  Local  Government  Board  ; 
and  again  drawing  attention  to  the  Phoenix  Park 
outrage  on  the  constabulary  estimates.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  procuring  the  adoption  of  several  of  his 
amendments,  as  well  as  in  extracting  from  the 
Government  a  definite  promise  that  they  would 
provide  for  independent  inspection  of  all  convict 
prisons,  so  that  their  unhappy  inmates  should  not 
be  left  wholly  to  the  tender  mercies  of  hardened 
officials.  Good  work  for  a  single  man,  this  will 
no  doubt  be  thought;  yet  not  a  tithe  of  what  it 
would  have  been  but  for  the  restraining  presence 
of  Mr.  Butt,  who  appealed  to  Mr.  Parnell  to  give 
way  on  the  constabulary  estimates.  In  spite  of 
what  had  passed  between  the  two  gentlemen,  Mr. 
Parnell,  in  deference  to  Mr.  Butt,  did  give  way. 
Thus  a  "scene"  which  must  have  been  more  vio- 
lent than  any  preceding  one,  was  avoided  on  the 
19th  of  July;  for  it  had  been  Mr.  Parnell's  re- 
solve to  have  challenged  a  division  on  every  one 
of  thirty-two  estimates,  and  it  is  but  natural  to 
suppose  that  the  tempers  of  the  mob  of  unwill- 
ing pedestrians  should  have  suffered  more  than 
ever  under  an  infliction  so  unprecedented.  Mr. 
Parnell,  however,  did  not  leave  the  House  in  the 
least  doubt  either  as  to  the  intentions  he  had  en- 


132  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

tertained  or  the  reason  which  moved  him  to  forego 
them.  He  openly  stated  that  "it  was  fortunate 
for  the  Government  that  the  honorable  and  learned 
member  for  Limerick  was  present ;  for,  had  it  not 
been  for  his  declared  wish,  he  (Mr.  Parnell) 
should  have  divided  the  House  on  every  one  of 
the  thirty-two  votes."  A  sense  of  relief  must 
have  been  experienced  all  along  the  Government 
benches  at  this  announcement,  and  a  transitory 
feeling  of  gratitude  to  Mr.  Butt  no  doubt  was 
felt.  Against  Mr.  Parnell,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  bitterest  antipathy  was  excited  by  his  auda- 
cious declaration.  It  was  borne  in  mind  too ; 
and  the  very  next  night  the  frantic  hostility  of 
"the  first  assembly  of  gentlemen  in  the  world," 
as  the  English  are  fond  of  calling  their  House  of 
Commons,  burst  in  a  tornado  of  uproar,  the  equal 
of  which  had  never  been  known  within  the  walls 
of  the  Commons  chamber.  The  scene  which 
took  place  was  similar  to  those  we  have  previ- 
ously described,  only  much  more  disorderly, 
tumultuous,  and  disgraceful. 

The  scene  began  by  Mr.  Biggar  moving,  near 
one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  that  progress  should 
be  reported.  In  the  course  of  an  animated  dis- 
cussion which  ensued,  Mr.  Butt  said  he  did  not 
regard  the  proceedings  initiated  by  Mr.  Biggar  as 
obstruction.  Notwithstanding  this  pronounce- 
ment of  the  leader  of  the  Irish  party,  Mr.  Mel- 
don  "protested  against  the  course  taken  by  the 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  133 

honorable  member  for  Cavan  as  obstructive,"  etc. 
Mr.  O'Shaughnessy  also,  the  junior  member  for 
Limerick  city,  was  rewarded  by  w  loud  cheers," 
for  a  wanton  attack  apon  his  brother  Irish  mem- 
bers. This  brought  Mr.  Parnell  to  his  feet  in  re- 
ply. Then  the  full  fury  of  the  hurricane  burst 
forth.  The  uproar  grew  deafening.  Most  of  it 
was  inarticulate  noises  —  shouts,  hoots,  yells, 
groans,  howls  —  purposely  made  to  try  once 
more  to  cow  him,  and  at  least  to  prevent  him 
from  being  heard.  Amid  the  horrid  din  occa- 
sionally could  be  heard  shrieks  of  "Vide,  'vide," 
screams  of  "sit  down,"  and  the  like;  while  one 
honorable  gentleman,  filled  with  an  enlightened 
zeal  for  "the  tone  of  the  House,"  roared  out, 
familiarly,  "Finish  up,  Parnell."  The  member 
for  Meath,  however,  was  not  cowed,  did  not  sit 
down,  and  would  not  "finish  up."  Instead,  he 
showed  a  spice  of  resentment  at  the  organized 
clamor  to  which  he  was  being  subjected,  and  con- 
trived to  make  himself  distinctly  heard  while 
uttering  some  stinging  sentences  not  compliment- 
ary to  the  English  national  character.  But  it 
was  hard  work  to  go  on.  The  following  para- 
graph will  help  the  reader  to  realize  the  circum- 
stances under  which  Mr.  Parnell  spoke  that 
night :  — 

"This  is  a  sample  (great  uproar)  —  this  is  a 
sample  —  (deafening  uproar)  —  this  is  a  sample  of 
your  English  fair  play —  (indescribable  confusion ) . 


134  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

I  have  often  heard  of  it — (continued  uproar) — 
but  I  have  never  seen  it" — (prolonged  uproar). 
In  the  midst  of  the  hideous  and  disgusting  con- 
fusion  the  chairman's  voice  is  faintly  heard,  call- 
ing on  the  honorable  member  for  Meath  to  proceed  ; 
to  which  that  honorable  member  calmly  responds 
that  he  will  if  he  is  allowed. 

In  the  end,  by  persistence,  Mr.  Parnell  won. 
The  very  means  designed  to  prevent  what  was 
called  "obstruction  of  business"  proved  in  truth 
an  admirable  instrument  for  preventing  the  House 
from  doing  any  business  whatever.  This  fact 
began  to  dawn  on  the  Tory  leaders  when  a  couple 
of  hours  had  been  spent  in  wild  confusion ;  and 
at  length  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  con- 
sented to  close  the  sitting.  It  was  considerably 
after  two  o'clock  on  a  Saturday  morning  when  the 
House  adjourned,  on  the  understanding  that  there 
should  be  a  sitting  for  that  day,  beginning  at 
noon,  to  push  on  the  Judicature  Bill.  Saturday, 
except  on  very  extraordinary  occasions,  is  a  holi- 
day with  the  London  Parliament,  and  members 
are  always  very  loath  to  give  it  up  to  business, 
however  important ;  but  in  the  temper  of  the 
time  most  of  the  Commons  were  prepared  to 
make  large  sacrifices  in  the  hope  of  squelching 
the  little  band  of  irrepressible  Irishmen  who  pre- 
sumed to  air  opinions  of  their  own  in  that  assem- 
bly, and  who,  not  content  with  spurning  incorpo- 
ration, either  with  the  Tory  party  or  the  Whig, 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  135 

actually  dared  to  refuse  assent  to  the  notions  en- 
tertained, however  thoughtlessly  or  blindly,  by  an 
overwhelming  British  majority. 

For  a  whole  week  subsequently  every  sitting 
had  its  "scene."  The  formal  sitting  of  Saturday, 
the  21st,  came,  and  with  it  a  mob  of  British  mem- 
bers prepared  to  send  through  committee  at  racing 
speed  the  Government  Judicature  Bill.  Their 
good  intentions,  however,  were  all  in  vain.  At 
the  very  outset  they  wrere  met  by  a  motion  to  re- 
port progress  ;  and  then  through  long  weary  hours 
the  wrangle  between  majority  and  minority  went 
on.  It  must  be  said  of  this  day's  sitting  that  by 
no  means  such  violence  was  displayed  as  at  any 
of  the  stormy  night  scenes  ;  a  circumstance  largely 
due,  no  doubt,  to  the  fact  that  it  was  held  before 
dinner,  not  after. 

Mr.  Butt  made  a  remarkable  intervention  in 
the  tedious  debate.  He  began  by  saying  that  "he 
rose  with  feelings  of  humiliation  to  take  part  in 
this  miserable  discussion. "  Although  the  gist  of 
his  speech  was  a  condemnation  of  his  own  too, 
zealous  followers,  he  did  not  wholly  acquit  the 
majority  of  blame.  The  portion  of  his  remarks 
first  alluded  to  evoked  "loud  cheers"  of  course 
from  the  British  ;  but  they  did  not  appreciate  the 
second  portion  at  all  —  which  was  only  what 
might  have  been  expected.  In  spite  of  his  in- 
fluential interference  the  Saturday  sitting  might 
almost  as  well  not  have   been  held.      But    little 


136  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

was  done  except  to  expose  more  clearly  than 
ever  the  utter  helplessness  of  the  British  House 
of  Commons  in  the  grasp  of  a  few  resolute  Irish 
members. 

The  sitting  of  Monday,  the  23rd,  came,  and 
the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  rose  early  in  his 
place  to  propose,  in  view  of  the  alarmingly  back- 
ward state  of  "the  business  of  the  House,"  that 
Tuesdays  and  Wednesdays  —  the  days  devoted  to 
the  bills  of  private  members  —  should  be  given 
up  by  them  to  the  Government  for  the  rest  of  the 
session.  Mr.  Parnell,  !*  who  rose  amid  loud  and 
general  interruption, "  opposed  the  Chancellor's 
proposition,  and  in  the  course  of  his  speech  took 
occasion  to  point  out  that  the  House  was  really 
overburdened  with  work;  that  in  its  insatiable 
appetite  for  meddling  with  the  affairs  of  other 
peoples  it  had  gorged  itself  with  business ;  and 
that  the  only  remedy  for  its  complaint  was  dis- 
gorgement. He  was  informed  that  he  must  not 
discuss  the  question  of  Home  Rule  for  Ireland  on 
a  motion  for  facilitating  the  transaction  of  "  the 
business  of  the  House,"  but  he  adroitly  drove 
home  his  point  by  saying  that  it  would  be  neces- 
sary very  soon  to  take  into  consideration  the 
breaking  up  of  the  legislative  functions  of  the 
House,  and  their  redistribution  among  smaller 
bodies.  That  day  there  was  another  scene,  of 
course.  The  majority  were  in  such  a  condition  of 
mind  that  they  could  not  keep  their  tempers  for 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  137 

fifteen  minutes  at  a  time ;  but  as  the  climax  of 
violence  had  been  reached  in  the  sitting  of  the 
20th,  the  tendency  now  was  towards  outbursts  of 
wrath  less  unreasoning.  Mr.  Parnell's  share  in 
the  inevitable  "  scene  "  was  a  warm  interposition 
in  defence  of  Mr.  ODonnell  when  that  gentleman 
was  grossly  attacked  by  a  Tory  named  Chaplin. 

An  incident  of  a  very  peculiar  kind  occurred  in 
the  sitting  of  Tuesday,  the  24th  July,  which, 
though  it  caused  much  laughter  in  the  House  at 
the  moment,  was  yet  added  to  the  long  list  of 
offences  of  which  in  the  minds  of  most  of  the 
British  members  Mr.  Parnell  had  been  guilty. 
The  Irish  County  Courts  Bill  was  under  consid- 
eration in  committee ;  the  hour  was  one  well  into 
Wednesday  morning.  Major  O'Gorman  moved 
that  progress  should  be  reported.  He  named 
Mr.  Biggar  for  his  co-teller.  The  two  gentlemen 
proceeded  to  the  lobby  of  the  "ayes"  to  count 
those  who  were  of  opinion  that  progress  should 
be  reported.  They  were  followed  into  the  lobby 
by  but  one  solitary  member  —  Mr.  Parnell. 
Messrs  O'Gorman  and  Biggar  had  small  trouble 
in  fulfilling  their  duties  as  tellers.  Not  so  the 
Tory  whips;  for  when  the  numbers  were  an- 
nounced there  appeared  "ayes,"  1 ;  "noes,"  147. 

The  gallant  major  was  still  unsatisfied.  No 
sooner  was  the  result  of  the  division  given  to  the 
House  than  he  moved  "that  the  chairman  do  now 
leave  the  chair."     Again  he  named  Mr.  Biggar  to 


138  C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P. 

aid  him  in  counting ;  again  that  gentleman  cheer- 
fully assented  ;  and  again  Mr.  Par n ell  rose  quietly 
from  his  seat,  and  placidly  walked  alone  into  the 
lobbj\  When  the  division  on  this  second  motion 
of  Major  O'Gorman's  was  declared,  it  was  found 
that  there  was  but  one  "aye  "  against  128  "  noes." 
There  was  something  so  unique,  so  sublimely 
audacious,  in  these  two  unprecedented  divisions, 
that  for  the  nonce  the  British  saw  only  a  comic 
side  to  the  affair,  and  the  announcements  of  the 
numbers  were  received  with  roars  of  laughter. 
But,  judging  from  what  happened  on  the  following 
day,  it  would  seem,  after  all,  to  have  been  bit- 
terly remembered. 

The  Government  had  a  bill  in  hands  for  form- 
ing a  confederation  in  their  South  African  colo- 
nies. They  had  also  annexed,  in  a  most  unjusti- 
fiable manner,  the  republic  of  the  Transvaal. 
Mr.  O'Donnell  had  put  down  on  the  notice  paper 
some  forty  amendments  to  the  South  African 
Confederation  Bill.  On  Wednesday,  the  25th 
of  July,  as  soon  as  the  House  was  made,  he 
moved  to  report  progress,  on  the  ground  that  the 
Government  had  given  no  clear  and  satisfactory 
explanation  of  the  annexation  of  the  Transvaal. 
As  usual,  he  was  greeted  with  shouts  and  inter- 
ruptions, and  appeals  to  the  chair  to  declare  him 
out  of  order.  When  he  had  finished,  Mr.  Par- 
nell  rose  amid  interruptions,  which  were  repeated 
and  continued  while  he  spoke.     His  observations 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  139 

were  couched  in  a  warmer  style  than  was  habitual 
to  him,  for  the  subject  was  one  on  which  he  felt 
strongly.     In  the  course  of  his  speech  he  said  : — 

"  I  feel  as  an  Irishman,  coming  from  a  country  which 
has  experienced  to  the  fullest  extent  the  result  of  Eng- 
lish interference  in  its  affairs,  and  the  consequences  of 
English  cruelty  and  tyranny,  that  I  have  a  special 
interest  in  thwarting  and  preventing  the  designs  of 
Government  upon  their  unfortunate  South  African 
colonists." 

No  sooner  were  these  words  spoken  than  Sir 
Stafford  Northcote  sprang  to  his  feet  like  a  man 
who  saw  an  opportunity  for  which  he  had  been 
looking.  He  moved  that  Mr.  ParnelTs  words 
should  be  taken  down,  and  the  Speaker  of  the 
House  sent  for.  These  grave  ceremonies  having 
been  properly  performed,  the  words  were  duly 
reported  to  the  Speaker.  That  functionary 
"turned  eagerly  upon  Mr.  Parnell  for  an  explana- 
tion, but  Mr.  Parnell  placidly  looked  on,  and 
made  no  sign  of  rising.  After  being  more  than 
once  invited  to  speak,  the  honorable  member  at 
length  rose,  and  soon  all  the  previous  excitement 
was  child's  play  to  what  ensued.  In  the  most 
determined  manner  he  defended  himself,  and, 
using  language  which  greatly  irritated  the  Minis- 
terialists, he  was  called  upon  by  the  Speaker  to 
desist  and  withdraw." 

When  a  member  of  the  London  Parliament  is 
about  to  be  tried  by  his  peers,  the  strange  custom 


140  C.    8.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

of  the  place  is  to  send  him  out  and  try  him  behind 
his  back.  Mr.  Parnell  left  the  House  proper,  as 
desired,  and  proceeded  to  one  of  the  galleries, 
where  he  quietly  sat  observing  all  that  subse- 
quently passed  below.  We  take  from  a  London 
correspondent  the  following  description  of  the 
scene  which  ensued  :  — 

u  The  moment  Mr.  Parnell  had  gone,  the  Chancellor 
improved  the  opportunity  by  giving  his  version  of  the 
occurrence,  and  ended  by  making  a  proposal  —  that 
Mr.  Parnell,  having  wilfully  and  persistently  obstructed 
public  business,  be  suspended  from  the  service  of  the 
House  until  Friday  next.  In  his  hasty  and  feeble  way 
it  was  at  once  seen  that  the  Chancellor  had  not  hit  the 
mark  at  which  he  aimed,  and  a  murmur  of  triumphant 
satisfaction  ran  along  the  Irish  ranks  —  now  greatly 
recruited  when  it  was  found  that  a  deliberate  onslaught 
had  been  made  on  one  of  their  number.  Mr.  Sullivan, 
ever  ready  to  fill  the  Irish  gap,  sprang  to  the  rescue  of 
the  member  for  Meath,  adopted  for  himself  the  very 
words  which  had  disturbed  the  soul  of  Sir  Stafford 
Northcote,  and  challenged  the  Government  to  take  his 
words  down.  With  exquisite  perception  of  the  truth, 
Mr.  Sullivan  demonstrated  to  the  House  that  which 
was  clear  enough,  indeed,  to  those  who  had  watched 
the  entire  tactics  of  the  Government  throughout  the 
clay  —  namely,  that  the  Chancellor  wished  to  punish 
Mr.  Parnell,  not  for  what  he  had  said  that  clay,  but  for 
his  conduct  on  previous  occasions,  and  which  was  not 
on  record.  Another  heavy  blow  came  upon  the  Gov- 
ernment from  a  quarter  they  little  suspected.  Who 
was  it  that  dared  from  the  front  Opposition  bench 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  141 

directly  facing  Mr.  Hardy,  to  cast  in  the  teeth  of  that 
very  Hotspur  of  obstruction  his  famous  avowal  to 
i  thwart '  all  the  efforts  of  the  late  Ministry  to  cany 
out  its  army  reforms?  Mr.  Knatchbull-Hugessen,  ex- 
Lord  of  the  Treasury,  and  ex-Under  Secretary  for  the 
Home  Department.  It  was  in  vain  that  the  chairman 
peered  through  his  spectacles,  or  nervously  wrung  his 
hands.  It  was  in  vain  that,  with  the  hot  blood  rushing 
up  to  his  face,  Mr.  Hardy  impatiently  shook  his  head 
Mr.  Hugessen  dilated  with  great  precision  on  the  well- 
remembered  tactics,  and  not  once  or  twice,  but  on 
dozens  of  occasions,  of  members  of  the  present  Govern- 
ment to  obstruct  the  measures  of  the  late  Ministry. 
The  discussion  then  became  general,  an  1  it  was  soon 
made  apparent  that  the  mine  sprung  by  the  Govern- 
ment so  far  had  been  sprung  in  vain.  The  Chancellor 
at  last  was  compelled  slowly  to  give  ground,  for  the 
Speaker  announced  that  Mr.  Parnell  was  entitled  to 
take  his  place  in  the  House  until  Friday." 

So  the  consideration  of  the  Chancellor's  penal 
proposal  against  Mr.  Parnell  was  postponed  for 
two  days,  when  that  most  aggravating  of  Irish 
members  was  at  last  to  be  brought  to  book,  to 
the  great  joy  of  the  now  triumphant  majority. 

"The  battle  is  not  always  to  the  strong, "  accord- 
ing to  the  proverb  ;  and  in  the  encounter  between 
Mr.  Parnell  and  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer, 
supported  as  the  latter  was  by  the  mass  of  the 
Commons,  the  wise  paradox  received  ample  justi- 
fication. The  Chancellor  was  worsted,  and  knew 
that  he  was.     So,  too,  knew  every  man  in  the 


142  C.    S.    PARNELL,  M.  P. 

House  who  still  retained  even  a  remnant  of 
reason.  The  member  for  Meath,  calmly  survey- 
ing from  the  gallery  overhead  the  remarkable 
scene  taking  place  on  the  floor  beneath  him, 
heard  the  Speaker's  decision  that  he  was  at  liberty 
to  resume  his  place  in  the  House.  Thereupon  he 
left  the  gallery,  and  walked  quietly  towards  the 
bench  usually  occupied  by  him.  Though  aware 
that  he  had  won  an  undoubted  victory,  and  that 
he  had  had  besides  the  gratification  of  opening 
out  his  mind  about  the  Ministerialists  pretty  freely 
to  them,  he  wore  no  air  of  triumph  as  he  went  up 
the  floor.  Rather,  indeed,  his  mien  was  that  of 
gentlemanly,  if  not  studied,  unostentation. 

He  did  not,  however,  take  his  seat  when  he 
went  in.  He  had  had  possession  of  the  floor 
at  the  time  of  the  Chancellor's  interruption ;  he 
had  not  been  allowed  to  conclude  his  speech ; 
and  now,  after  the  lapse  of  an  hour  spent  in  dis- 
cussing his  words  and  conduct,  he  proceeded  to 
finish  the  remarks  he  had  originally  intended  to 
make.  He  went  on,  in  truth,  precisely  as  if  there 
had  been  no  interruption  whatever ;  and  he 
amazed  all,  while  amusing  many,  by  taking  up  his 
speech  at  the  exact  point  where  he  had  left  off — 
absolutely  at  the  very  wrords  where  he  had  been 
checked  —  "and,"  says  a  newspaper  correspon- 
dent of  the  time,  "bore  himself  with  all  the 
calmness  of  a  judge  amid  the  uproar." 

The  Marquis  of  Hartington,  leader  of  the  Whig 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  143 

Opposition,  and  possible  leader  of  the  House  in 
the  event  of  a  change  of  Ministry,  was  naturally 
as  anxious  to  quell  Mr.  Parnell  as  Sir  Stafford 
Northcote  himself  could  be;  but  he  was  just  as 
anxious  that  that  should  be  done  without  at  the 
same  time  doing  vital  injury  to  the  House  of  Com- 
mons itself.  Therefore,  as  Sir  Stafford  had  placed 
himself  in  a  false  position  by  his  rashness  of  the 
25th  July,  the  Marquis  obligingly  came  to  his  aid 
at  the  sitting  of  Thursday,  the  26th,  by  mildly 
suggesting  that  the  personal  aspect  of  the  obstruc- 
tion question  should  be  wholly  dropped.  A  capi- 
tal suggestion  this  was  for  the  Chancellor,  seeing 
that  he  could  have  made  nothing  of  his  charge 
against  Mr.  Parnell ;  so  Sir  Stafford  in  the  most 
amiable  manner  adopted  the  idea  of  his  right  hon- 
orable friend  the  noble  marquis,  and  announced 
that  instead  of  proceeding  against  the  honorable 
member  for  Meath  on  the  morrow  he  would  bring 
forward  some  resolutions  dealing  in  a  general  way 
with  the  facilitation  of  "the  business  of  the 
House."  In  all  probability  this  little  Parliament- 
ary farce,  which  went  off  with  great  eclat ,  had 
been  arranged  beforehand  between  the  right 
honorable  baronet  and  the  equally  right  honorable 
marquis. 

The  morrow  came,  Friday,  the  27th  July,  and 
the  resolutions  of  the  Chancellor  were  duly  put 
before  the  House.  One  provided  that  if  a  mem- 
ber were  twice   declared  out   of    order  by  the 


144  O.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P. 

Speaker  or  the  chairman  of  committees,  it  should 
be  in  the  power  of  the  House  to  muzzle  him  by 
suspending  the  debate  and  summarily  silencing 
him  during  the  remainder  of  the  sitting.  The 
other  provided  that  it  should  not  be  in  the  power 
of  any  member  to  move  more  than  once  that  the 
chairman  do  report  progress,  or  that  the  chairman 
do  leave  the  chair.  The  first  as  well  as  the  second 
of  these  rules  was  meant  to  work  practically  only 
while  the  House  sat  in  committee,  for  then  it  was 
that  the  new  Irish  scheme  of  Parliamentary  tactics 
could  be  best  developed. 

Hours  on  hours  of  discussion  of  these  proposals 
followed  their  introduction  ;  for  the  more  thought- 
ful among  the  British  members  were  loath  to  part, 
even  for  the  remainder  of  the  session,  with  val- 
uable privileges  of  Avhich  they  themselves  might 
be  anxious  to  avail  themselves  at  any  moment. 
The  one  circumstance  of  the  discussion  which  as- 
tonished and  disturbed  the  faithful  Commons  was, 
that  all  the  prominent  "obstructives"  rose  to  tell 
the  House  that  they  had  not  the  faintest  idea  of 
offering  opposition  to  the  proposed  rules.  It  had 
naturally  been  expected  that  they  would  resist  to 
the  utmost  what  was  so  transparently  an  effort  to 
make  a  net  in  which  to  catch  them  ;  and  when, 
instead  of  resisting,  they  seemed  rather  to  enjoy 
the  process  of  manufacture  going  on  before  their 
eyes,  an  uneasy  feeling  began  to  prevail  in  the 
bosom  of  many  a  British  member  that  the  Chan- 


C.    8.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  145 

cellor's  meshes  would  prove  unequal  to  their  pur- 
pose. Nevertheless  the  Minister's  blindly  obecuetis 
majority  obeyed  his  will,  and  the  Chancellors 
proposals  at  length  became  formally  "rules  of  the 
House"  for  the  rest  of  the  session  of  1877.  Here 
we  may  state,  however,  that  the  only  one  who 
came  under  the  operation  of  either  of  them  was  a 
British  member  —  poor  Mr.  Whalley,  to  wit — and 
that  in  applying  the  first  rule  to  him  the  Speaker 
made  a  ludicrous  blunder  which  put  his  own  pro- 
ceeding wholly  out  of  order,  and  brought  down 
general  ridicule  on  "the  new  rules."  What  effect 
those  rules  had  in  restraining  "the  obstructives" 
will  presently  be  seen. 

The  sessions  of  the  London  Parliament  usually 
close  before  the  middle  of  August,  to  allow  of 
noble  lords  and  honorable  and  right  honorable 
gentlemen  being  on  the  moors  in  time  for  the 
opening  of  the  shooting  season  —  an  arrangement 
which  is  obviously  less  for  the  convenience  of 
legislation  than  of  the  legislators.  Lo  !  August 
was  at  hand,  and  the  Government's  pet  project, 
the  South  African  Confederation  Bill,  had  still  to 
go  through  most  of  its  stages.  Ministers  felt  that 
"something  must  be  done"  in  earnest  at  this  con- 
juncture. Monday,  the  30th  July,  passed  away, 
and  the  South  African  Bill,  had  virtually  made  no 
progress.  The  dreadful  member  for  Dungarvan 
and  his  small  band  of  colleagues  stood  in  the  way. 
Need  it  be  said  that  Mr.  Parnell  was  one  of  them? 


146  0.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P. 

Tuesday,   the  31st  July,    disclosed    the    notable 
"something"  which  had  been  evolved. 

Anything  better  calculated  to  render  Parlia- 
mentary institutions  worthless,  to  bring  them  into 
just  contempt,  and  to  make  men  inclined  to  turn 
from  them  towards  some  form  of  intelligent  des- 
potism, can  hardly  be  conceived  than  the  plan  put 
in  force  on  the  31st  July.  The  Conservative 
members  were  divided  into  batches,  each  batch 
told  off  to  appear  in  the  House  during  certain 
hours  of  the  evening  and  night.  Thus  a  system 
of  relays  was  constituted,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
relieve  each  other  at  stated  periods,  and  so  avoid 
too  much  fatigue  for  any.  It  was  perfectly  un- 
derstood from  the  first  that  their  business  was, 
not  to  discuss  the  provisions  of  the  South  African 
Bill,  but  to  pass  them.  Many  Whig  members  lent 
themselves  to  this  conspiracy,  moved  thereto  by 
the  good  old  Sassenach  intolerance  of  Irish  liber- 
ties. Some  of  the  Home  Rule  party,  with  the 
spaniel's  instinct,  did  likewise.  Every  necessary 
preparation  had  been  made  to  keep  up  the  strength 
of  the  Government  men.  Meat  and  drink  were 
provided  for  them  regardless  of  expense.  Sup- 
per for  those  who  remained  about  the  lobbies  for 
divisions  in  the  night,  and  breakfast  for  those  ex- 
pected early  in  the  morning,  were  ordered  by  the 
Government  whip.  Such  toothsome  delicacies  as 
grilled  bones,  devilled  kidneys,  and  spatchcocks 
figured  largely  on  the  dining-room  tables.     Copi- 


C.   S.    PABNELL,   M.  P.  147 

ous  supplies  of  champagne  were  there  to  keep  up 
the  fighting  spirit  of  the  Saxon  host.  No  doubt 
it  had  that  effect  as  the  hours  flew  by  ;  but  it  had 
the  effect  also  of  making  honorable  members 
more  uproarious  than  they  might  otherwise  have 
been. 

The   struggle  began   at  about    five    o'clock  on 

CO  CT 

Tuesday  evening,  Mr.  O'Donnell,  in  right  of  his 
scores  of  amendments,  leading  the  assault.  The 
Irish,  all  told,  numbered  just  seven.  Mr.  Butt 
sided  with  the  Government  and  the  majority,  and 
bitterly  assailed  the  colleagues  who  were  too  active 
for  his  wishes.  He  publicly  denied  in  the  House 
that  they  were  members  of  the  Irish  party,  and 
declared  that  if  he  thought  their  conduct  received 
the  sanction  of  their  countrymen  he  would  retire 
from  Irish  politics  as  from  "u  vulgar  brawl." 
Yet  he  should  not  be  judged  too  harshly.  His 
early  conservative  training  could  not  but  have 
left  some  warp  in  his  ideas. 

All  night  long  the  contest  went  on.  The  chair- 
man  of  committees  was  relieved  by  a  deputy,  who 
in  turn  was  relieved  by  another,  who  iu  turn  was 
relieved  by  still  another,  who  in  turn  was  relieved 
by  the  chairman  in  person.  Every  amendment 
proposed  was  ignorantly  defeated,  when  brought 
to  a  division,  by  a  swarm  of  British  members  who 
had  not  heard  a  word  of  the  reasons  urged  in  favor 
of  the  amendments,  but  who  rushed  into  the 
House  with    the  sole   and    deliberate  purpose  of 


148  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  lr. 

voting  down  any  and  every  proposal  that  came 
from  the  Irish  seven. 

As  might  be  expected,  Mr.  Parnell  took  a  con- 
spicuous part  in  the  fray.  In  the  course  of  the 
night,  in  language  which  the  newspaper  corres- 
pondents characterized  as  of  extraordinary  bold- 
ness, he  taunted  the  Englishmen  with  their  love 
of  boasting,  sneered  at  ce  English  fair  play,"  told 
them  it  was  best  exemplified  in  their  national 
custom  of  kicking  a  man  when  down,  and  de- 
scribed them  as  "big  bullies,"  who,  like  all  bullies, 
shrank  when  they  were  met  with  determination. 
It  need  hardly  be  added  that  such  plain  and 
truthful  speaking  was  not  at  all  to  the  taste  of 
those  who  heard  it ;  but  they  had  to  swallow  it  as 
best  they  could. 

This  was  just  the  occasion  on  which  to  test  the 
value  of  the  H  new  rules."  Strange  to  say,  how- 
ever, the  Irish  members  kept  wonderfully  within 
the  bounds  of  order,  while  such  of  their  British 
opponents  as  ventured  to  speak  at  all  were  con- 
stantly tripping  up,  and  one  after  another,  amid 
general  mortification,  bad  to  withdraw  and  to 
apologize  for  his  unparliamentary  expressions. 
As  if  to  crgwii  the  absurdity  of  the  anti-obstruc- 
tion devices,  and  to  put  a  climax  of  ridicule  on 
those  doings  of  ?  the  assembled  wisdom  of  the 
country,"  the  very  chairman  himself  got  out  of 
order,  made  a  ruling  antagonistic  to  the  Irish 
which   was    at   once    challenged,    and    was    con- 


C.    S.    PARNELL,  M.  P.  149 

strained  to  withdraw  it  and  to  say,  "I  beg  your 
pardon,"  to  the  infinite  grief  of  the  wildly  excited 
but  thoroughly  humiliated  mob  of  Britishers.  To 
Mr.  Edmund  Dwyer  Gray,  then  in  his  best  days 
as  an  Irish  politician,  was  due  a  result  so  provo- 
cative of  inextinguishable  laughter. 

The  wear  and  tear  of  this  most  harassing  ses- 
sion had  for  some  time  been  telling  on  Mr.  Par- 
nell.  The  London  correspondent  of  the  Newcastle 
Chronicle,  who  is  understood  to  be  no  other  than 
Mr.  Joseph  Co  wen,  M.  P.,  for  Newcastle-on-Tyne, 
writing  a  little  while  before  this  famous  scene  at 
Westminster,  describes  him  as  looking  much  worn, 
and  as  having  aged  wonderfully  in  appearance 
within  a  comparatively  short  time.  Though  his 
strength  was  failing  he  held  on  resolutely  all 
through  the  night,  saw  the  sun  rise  and  the  gas 
turned  off;  and  not  till  a  quarter  past  eight  in  the 
morning,  after  fifteen  hours  of  incessant  labor, 
mental  and  vocal,  protracted  struggle,  unending 
uproar,  and  unbroken  excitement,  did  he  retire 
from  the  arena  to  take  a  much  needed  rest. 
Others  had  preceded  him,  and  had  returned  to 
their  posts.  But  he  did  not  remain  long  away. 
Four  hours  later,  at  a  quarter  past  twelve,  he  was 
again  by  the  side  of  his  few  colleagues ;  and 
thenceforward  until  the  last  division  was  taken, 
after  a  sitting  of  the  unprecedented  duration  of 
twenty-six  hours,  he  continued  with  them  the 
unequal  fight. 


150  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

It  should  he  noted  here,  as  a  very  interesting 
incident  of  this  famous  sitting  of  the  British  Par- 
liament, that  Miss  Fanny  Parnell,  one  of  the  high- 
spirited  sisters  of  the  member  for  Meath,  sat  all 
night  long  in  the  ladies'  gallery  of  the  Commons 
chamber,  a  listener  to  and  a  spectator  of  what  was 
going  forward  below.  The  lady's  strong  Irish 
sympathies  and  high-souled  courage  are  very  gen- 
erally known  by  this  time. 

Another  notable  incident  of  the  twenty-six 
hours'  sitting  may  be  recalled.  There  is  a  chap- 
lain attached  to  the  House  of  Commons,  whose 
duty  it  is  to  prepare  with  prayer  the  business  of 
each  sitting  —  an  ironical  proceeding  some  may 
think.  He  came  down  to  the  House  at  twelve 
o'clock  on  Wednesday,  book  in  hand,  to  perform 
his  functions  in  the  ordinary  course  at  a  day  sit- 
ting. His  astonishment  may  be  imagined  when 
he  found  the  night  sitting  of  Tuesday  still  in  full 
swing  at  noonday  on  Wednesday ;  and  he  pre- 
cipitately beat  a  retreat. 

The  Government  had  carried  their  point.  They 
had  forced  the  South  African  Confederation  Bill 
through  committee ;  but  they  had  done  so  at  the 
cost  of  depriving  the  House  of  Commons  of  all 
character  as  a  deliberative  assembly.  Very  soon 
they  were  made  to  know  that.  Every  journal  in 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland  was  ringing  with  the 
twenty-six  hours'  fight;  and  though,  of  course, 
the  British  writers  at  first  and  chiefly  showered 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  151 

blame  on  the  heads  of  the  Irish  ff obsf motives, " 
yet  the  conspirators  against  freedom  of  debate 
came  in. for  the  gravest  censure.  Englishmen  are 
as  jealous  of  their  hard-won  national  liberties 
as  they  are  impatient  of  the  liberties  of  other 
peoples ;  and  from  all  sides  came  down  a  very 
hail  of  denunciation  on  the  Government  for  dar- 
ing to  overturn,  by  the  system  of  "relays,"  the 
whole  constitution  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and 
causing  it  to  violate  its  duty  of  deliberating  on 
legislative  projects.  Thus  the  latest  weapon 
fashioned  for  the  crushing  of  the  new  Irish  tactics 
was  discovered  to  be  more  fatal  to  British  freedom 
than  to  w  obstruction  ;  "  consequently  it  was  never 
more  employed. 

Again,  the  Irish,  with  their  accustomed  skill, 
had  selected  for  their  operations  a  subject  which 
was  certain  to  afford  them  ample  justification 
for  the  most  strenuous  opposition.  The  annexa- 
tion of  the  Transvaal  and  the  South  African  Con- 
federation Act  were  between  them  responsible  for 
the  Zulu  war,  with  its  bloody  episodes  and  its 
disgraceful  disasters  of  Isandula  and  the  Intombi 
river,  as  well  as  for  the  heavy  pecuniary  costs 
involved  —  costs  which  must  come  out  of  the 
pockets  chiefly  of  British  taxpayers.  Nor  is  it 
by  any  means  certain,  at  the  time  of  this  writing, 
that  all  trouble  for  the  British  empire  is  at  an  end 
in  South  Africa.  It  may  be  a  long  while  ere  the 
Boers  are  content  to  remain  in  that  South  African 


152  C.    S.    FARNELL,    M.  P. 

Confederation  with  which  they  were  so  violently 
incorporated. 

About  the  beginning  of  August  London  ed- 
itors made  a  singular  discovery.  They  had 
previously  been  accustomed  to  refer  to  Mr.  Par- 
nell  as  a  man  wholly  without  capacity,  who  had 
achieved  a  bad  notoriety  by  a  series  of  wanton 
outrages  against  "the  tone  of  the  House."  All 
of  a  sudden,  however,  they  found  out  that  he  was 
a  man  of  "undoubted  ability,"  who  showed  great 
skill  in  selecting  the  subjects  he  brought  before 
the  House  aforesaid,  great  clearness  in  present- 
ing his  views,  and  great  adroitness  in  utilizing 
the  forms  of  Parliament.  He  was  spoken  of 
kindly  as  a  young  man  who  had  a  splendid  career 
open  to  him  if  he  would  employ  his  undoubted 
ability  in  less  aggravating  ways,  and  would  not 
set  himself  in  violent  opposition  to  the  House. 
Why,  it  was  hinted,  he  might  before  long  actually 
be  a  Cabinet  Minister  of  the  British  Empire.  A 
man  with  his  gifts  might  aspire  to  almost  any 
post.  In  other  words,  if  he  would  only  throw 
over  Ireland,  accept  the  Union,  and  settle  down  to 
work  as  a  British  party-man,  he  would  in  the  end 
be  duly  rewarded  with  "  a  place."  Charles  Stewart 
Parnell,  nevertheless,  heeded  as  little  this  British 
soft  sawder  as  he  heeded  the  uproar  to  which 
British  members  of  Parliament  nightly  treated 
him.  He  went  on  his  own  way  without  pause 
or  ^lJler,  offering,  with  Mr.  O'Donnell  and  others, 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  153 

amendments  to  the  Prisons  Bill  and  the  South  Af- 
rican Bill  to  the  last,  some  of  which  were  so  ob- 
viously valuable  that  the  Government  accepted 
them.  Nay,  a  few  nights  after  the  twenty-six 
hours'  fight  he  calmly  "talked  out—the  Expiring 
Laws  Continuance  Bill — a  Government  measure 
of  the  very  first  importance  —  the  feat  evoking 
only  unutterable  horror.  It  was  too  much. 
Words  —  nay,  even  brayings —  could  not  express 
what  was  felt  on  the  occasion. 

The  stron""  language  in  which  Mr.  Butt  indulged 
in  the  debate  on  the  morning  of  the  1st  of  August 
expressed  his  real  feelings,  and  he  soon  made  an 
effort  to  procure  the  expulsion  from  the  Irish  Par- 
liamentary party  of  those  members  who  had  the 
temerity  to  defy  English  public  opinion  and  to 
show  the  most  Utter  disregard  for  "  the  tone  of  the 
House."  It  should  be  remembered  for  him  that 
he  was  then  fast  failing  both  in  mind  and  body,  that 
he  was  constitutionally  averse  from  anything  in  the 
nature  of  resolute  fighting,  and  that,  besides,  the 
training  ot  a  life,  most  of  which  was  passed  in 
flisi  prius  courts,  inclined  him  to  persuasion  and 
argument  for  the  accomplishment  of  his  ends. 
If  he  were  so  wanting  in  sagacity  as  to  regard  the 
British  Parliament  as  though  it  were  an  enormous 
jury  sworn  to  do  justice  according  to  the  evidence, 
there  was  much  excuse  for  him.  His  effort  to 
expel  Mr.  Parnell  and  his  friends  wholly  failed  at 
the  meeting  of  the  Irish  party  called  for  that  ex- 


154  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

press  purpose.  Even  though  Mr.  Butt  threatened 
to  resign  his  leadership,  if  his  wishes  were  not 
complied  with,  the  meeting  broke  up  without 
doing  anything  or  coming  to  any  decision  on  the 
question  before  them. 

In  Ireland  the  course  pursued  by  Mr.  Parnell 
and  his  friends  was  not  only  understood  but  thor- 
oughly approved  of;  and  when  it  came  to  be 
known  that  efforts  were  being  made  by  Mr.  Butt 
to  crush  the  fighting  men  of  his  own  following,  it 
was  deemed  judicious  to  give  him  some  unmistak- 
able inkling  of  the  popular  judgment  on  the  sub- 
ject in  dispute.  Accordingly  a  public  meeting  in 
honor  of  Messrs.  Parnell  and  Biggar  was  pro- 
jected in  Dublin,  to  be  held  in  the  historic  Round 
Room  of  the  Rot  undo.  The  committee  of  man- 
agement early  foresaw  that  some  mode  of  check- 
ing the  rush  that  would  be  made  on  the  room  the 
night  of  the  meeting  was  an  absolute  necessity. 
Admission  by  ticket  only  was  resorted  to.  The 
demand  for  tickets  was  amazing.  All  classes, 
rich  and  poor,  high  and  low,  made  application  ; 
even  numerous  civil  servants  eagerly  sought  for 
them  that  they  might  secure  admission. 

The  most  remarkable  session  of  the  British 
Parliament  for  over  a  century  came  to  an  end  on 
the  13th  of  August,  1877.  The  Rotundo  meeting 
followed  on  the  21st  of  the  same  month.  Even 
under  the  ticket  system  every  part  of  the  vast 
hall — platform,   floor,    and   gallery — was   over- 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    If.  P.  155 

crowded.  The  scene  when  the  two  guests  of  the 
evening  came  on  the  platform  was  such  as  was 
never  previously  witnessed,  there  or  elsewhere, 
by  the  present  generation.  Such  wild  enthusi- 
asm, such  unbounded  delight,  such  universal 
cheering,  prolonged  for  ten  minutes,  such  waving 
of  hats  in  air  by  strong-armed  men,  such  fluttering 
of  snowy  handkerchiefs  by  bright-eyed  women  — 
such  a  scene  as  this  is  seldom  witnessed  more  than 
once  in  a  life-time.  A  forest  of  hats  moved  to 
and  fro  over  the  densely  packed  mass  on  the 
great  platform  ;  and  in  front  of  that  black  moving 
mass  there  stood,  erect,  unwavering,  a  tall  slight 
figure,  presenting  a  pale  quiet  face  with  set 
features,  which  might  have  caused  an  observer  to 
think  that  their  owner  was  stirred  by  no  emotion 
whatever,  either  through  the  thrilling  sight  before 
him  or  the  yet  more  thrilling  sounds  of  joy  and 
welcome  which  tore  the  air  incessantly,  but  that 
now  and  again  a  soft  light  came  and  went  in  the 
bright  brown  eyes.  And  when  the  cheering 
within  the  room  had  died  away,  lo  !  more  mighty 
still  in  volume  came  the  hurrahing  of  the  many 
thousands  outside  the  building,  who,  unable  to 
effect  an  entrance,  were  yet  eager  to  join  their 
voices  with  those  of  the  more  fortunate  within,  in 
an  overpowering  demonstration  of  welcome  to 
Parnell  and  Biggar,  the  two  exemplars  of  faithful 
Irish  representatives,     Dublin  had  spoken  on  the 


156  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

issue  raised  by  Mr.  Butt,  and  her  verdict  was  em- 
phatically with  Mr.  Parnell. 

The  capital  of  a  nation  may  not  be  in  strict 
accord,  either  politically  or  morally,  with  the  rest 
of  the  country.  Provincial  places  usually  move 
more  slowly  than  metropolitan  ones ;  provincial 
jieople  do  not  catch  up  new  ideas  in  a  hurry. 
Dublin  indeed  had  spoken  ;  but  the  voice  of  the 
provinces  had  yet  to  be  heard  in  judgment  on  the 
new  Parliamentary  policy  before  any  one  could 
assume  that  it  had  the  approval  of  the  country. 
Yet  so  rapidly  did  this  policy  commend  itself  to 
the  national  intelligence  that  within  a  few  weeks 
Mr.  Parnell  was  invited  to  and  honored  at  public 
meetings  and  banquets  by  several  provincial  dis- 
tricts, the  old  fortress-town  of  Kilmallock  spir- 
itedly leading  the  way.  Wherever,  in  fact,  the 
people  were  given  the  opportunity  of  making  a 
pronouncement,  it  was  emphatically  on  the  side  of 
Parnell  as  against  Butt. 

That  circumstance,  however,  did  not  prevent 
Mr.  Butt  from  retaining  much  influential  support 
for  the  "  fair-and-easy  "  method  he  himself  favored. 
He  had  too  often  branded  as  "revolutionary"  the 
more  active  and  persistent  one  not  to  have  had  a 
following  among  the  large  number  of  people  who, 
in  Ireland  as  elsewhere,  shrink  from  a  course 
which  they  regard  as  violent. 

Nevertheless  Mr.  Butt  must  have  felt  that  the 
sceptre  was  slipping  from  his  grasp  ;  that  his  title 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  157 

of  leader  was  scarcely  more  than  nominal ;  that 
his  power  over  the  Irish  people,  whether  to  spur 
forward  or  restrain,  was  fast  ebbing  away.  It 
Was  a  mortifying  position  for  the  groat  old  man, 
and  its  bitterness  must  have  been  aggravated  by 
the  consciousness  of  failing  health.  His  step  was 
even  then  growing  slow  and  heavy ;  his  great 
frame,  massive  as  an  oak-tree's  trunk,  had  fallen 
far  forward  at  the  shoulders  ;  the  movement  of 
his  big  heart  was  feeble,  and  his  pulses  made  less 
uealthfnl  music  than  of  yore.  Worse  than  all, 
the  splendid  intellect,  once  so  strong  and  so 
versatile,  and  on  which  a  great  question  seemed 
to  lie  as  lightly  as  a  pebble  in  a  giant's  palm,  wis 
giving  way,  was  wearing  down,  was  losing  both 
power  and  elasticity.  And  the  soul  of  the  old 
man  was  grieved  exceedingly. 

In  the  hope  of  still  effecting  good  with  the  Irish 
Parliamentary  party,  be  consented,  although  re- 
luctantly, to  the  holding  of  a  national  conference 
for  the  purpose  of  settling  the  vexed  question  of 
policy.  While  waiting  for  the  assembling  of  this 
conference  the  year  1877  passed  away. 

In  January,  1878,  the  conference  was  duly 
held.  A  majority  of  those  present,  as  well  as  all 
the  weighty  argument,  was  so  plainly  on  the  side 
of  the  new  tactics  that  the  prominent  supporters 
of  the  old  did  not  dare  to  take  a  division  on  the 
question  in  dispute;  and  a  compromise  —  sug- 
gested by  Mr.  Parnell,  who  did  not  want  to  break 


158  C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P. 

up  or  divide  the  Parliamentary  party,  but  only  to 
put  some  earnestness  into  it  —  was  effected.  Mr. 
Butt  could  not  but  have  felt  that  he  had  sustained 
a  defeat ;  and  the  feeling  was  not  calculated  to 
lighten  his  vexation  at  the  course  affairs  were  and 
had  been  taking.  In  a  little  while  he  formally 
resigned  the  leadership  of  the  party,  but  resumed 
it,  at  least  nominally,  on  the  request  of  the  mem- 
bers. When,  later  on,  he  resigned  the  post  of 
president  of  the  Home  Rule  Confederation,  driven 
thereto  by  the  repeated  declarations  of  branches 
of  that  body  in  favor  of  the  new  policy,  and  when 
on  the  instant  Mr.  Parnell  was  unanimously 
elected  his  successor,  the  cup  of  bitterness  must 
have  been  filled  for  him,  and  only  a  rancorous  or 
a  dull  cold  heart  could  refuse  him  pity  and  sym- 
pathy. He  had  made  large  sacrifices  of  time  and 
money  for  Ireland,  doing  the  best  for  her  accord- 
ing to  his  lights;  he  had  given  stupendous  labor 
in  the  drawing  up  of  Irish  bills  aud  the  like  ;  he 
had  devoted  several  of  the  best  years  of  his  life 
with  great  earnestness  and  energy  to  the  further- 
ance of  Irish  popular  interests  in  many  ways ; 
yet,  on  the  one  hand,  he  found  that  in  spite  of 
his  numerous  appeals  to  them  a  majority  of  the 
Irish  Parliamentary  party,  while  claiming  to  be 
truly  his  followers,  would  not  work  steadily  with 
him,  and  in  important  crises  were  ever  ready  to 
split  up  into  tails  of  the  two  great  British  factions  ; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  because  he  was  so  unwise 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  159 

as  to  identify  himself  completely  with  that  worth- 
less majority,  who  would  neither  be  led  nor  driven 
to  do  right,  he  found  the  masses  of  the  Irish  peo- 
ple falling  away  from  him  and  enthusiastically 
enrolling  themselves  under  the  banners  of  the  men 
for  whom  his  strongest  denunciations  had  been 
reserved.  Who  could  envy  him  the  feelings  he 
must  have  had  on  awakening  to  the  consciousness 
of  desertion  on  both  sides,  while  he  himself  fully 
believed  that  the  desertion  on  cither  was  wholly 
undeserved?  Justice  to  his  memory!  Even 
though  he  employed  the  brief  remainder  of  his 
life  and  the  remnant  of  his  decaying  powers  rather 
in  a  struggle  to  retain  the  leadership  from  which 
the  popular  will  had  virtually  deposed  him,  than 
in  serious  effort  for  the  interest  of  the  country  of 
his  birth  and  his  love,  we  can  still  wish  that  the 
clay  may  rest  lightly  on  his  breast,  in  that  lone 
humble  grave  in  sea- washed  Donegal,  where  he 
chose  that  his  body  should  mingle  with  Irish 
earth. 

When  Mr.  Parnell  entered  the  London  Parlia- 
ment in  1878  his  position  was  an  infinitely  stronger 
one  than  it  had  theretofore  been.  He  was  no  longer 
an  individual  member  struggling  against  an  over- 
bearing  and  intolerant  majority.  He  had  acquired 
something  of  the  character  of  a  national  representa- 
tive. His  previous  action  had  been  sufficiently 
endorsed  to  give  him  much  more  than  individual 
influence.     All  through  the  session  of  1878,  there- 


160  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

fore,  though  he  still  worked  in  the  grooves  he  had 
previously  made,  extraordinary  scenes  were  not 
the  ordinary  result  of  his  proceedings.  On  the 
contrary,  the  Government  were  inclined  to  con- 
ciliate him  to  a  large  extent,  much  to  the  disgust 
of  many  of  their  stupid  followers,  who  thought 
that  hanging  would  be  too  mild  a  fate  for  "  that 
Irish  fellow."  The  British  press  still  harped  on 
"obstruction,"  and  Mr.  Parnell  was  actually  desig- 
nated publicly  "a  curse  to  the  kingdom"  —  the 
kingdom  referred  to,  we  need  hardly  say,  being 
Great  Britain. 

At  length,  so  intolerable  to  the  British  Parlia- 
ment and  Government  had  the  situation  grown,  a 
Parliamentary  committee  was  appointed  to  con- 
sider how  best  an  end  could  be  put  to  "  obstruc- 
tion." Mr.  Parnell's  firm  position  in  the  House 
was  recognized  by  the  Government  placing  him 
on  this  committee.  While  serving  on  it  he  com- 
pletely baffled  every  effort  made  towards  showing 
that  he  and  the  few  who  acted  with  him  had  been 
at  all  in  the  wrong.  He  also  established  the  fu- 
tility of  striving  to  restrain  him  even  a  little  in 
the  future,  except  by  the  adoption  of  some  method 
which  must  restrain  British  members  also,  and  so 
be  hurtful  to  Parliament  itself.  In  short,  so  skil- 
ful were  the  questions  he  put  to  the  various  wit- 
nesses, and  so  ably  did  he  expose  the  fact  that  the 
real  drift  of  the  inquiry  was  to  repress  only  such 
Irish   members   as  stood    up   manfully  for  their 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  161 

country,  that  the  British  press  positively  took  to 
complimenting  him,  praised  him  for  his  ability, 
his  wisdom,  and  his  mastery  of  Parliamentary 
procedure,  and  suggested  to  the  Ministry  that  he 
should  be  often  appointed  on  committees  of  the 
House,  where  he  could  do  most  useful  work,  and 
at  the  same  time  be  kept  occupied  in  such  a  way 
as  to  prevent  him  from  delaying  the  ordinary 
business  of  Parliament. 

Undisturned,  either  by  censure  or  flattery,  he 
continued  his  labors  persistently,  amazing  all,  not 
only  by  the  vast  number  of  subjects  he  took  up, 
but  by  the  fulness  of  his  knowledge  regarding 
each.  There  was  no  stopping  him,  because  he  al- 
ways spoke  clearly  and  pointedly  to  the  question 
before  the  House.  And  at  last,  as  the  days  of 
the  session  were  quickly  running  out,  and  Gov- 
ernment business  was  wo  fully  behind,  the  Minis- 
try hit  on  the  sensible  plan  of  buying  off  his  op- 
position for  a  couple  of  months.  This  was  done 
by  the  introduction  of  the  Irish  Intermediate  Ed- 
ucation Bill,  which  went  far  towards  putting  Irish 
Catholics  on  an  equality  with  Irish  Protestants  in 
the  matter  of  middle-class  education,  restored  to 
Ireland  a  million  of  pounds  out  of  the  many  mil- 
lions taken  from  her  and  transferred  to  the  Impe- 
rial Exchequer,  and  must  prove  of  incalculable 
benefit  to  the  next  generation  of  Irishmen. 

The  session  of  1879  was  a  repetition  of  the 
previous  one  in  its  leading  features.     Mr*  Parnell 


162  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

devoted  himself,  among  other  labors,  to  a  con- 
tinued criticism  of  the  Government  Army  Bill, 
with  the  result  that  it  left  the  committee  a  totally 
different  bill  from  what  it  was  when  it  went  in. 
About  thirty  of  his  amendments  were  accepted  by 
Ministers,  and  in  the  course  of  the  long  struggle 
,he  succeeded  in  changing  the  opinion  of  the  House 
on  several  points  of  army  discipline.  Meanwhile 
Government  business  was  again  wofully  delayed  ; 
and  another  bid  for  Mr.  Parnell's  inactivity  was 
made  by  the  introduction  of  an  Irish  University 
Bill — this,  too,  in  face  of  a  Ministerial  state- 
ment, made  early  in  the  session,  that  the  adminis- 
tration had  no  intention  of  dealing  with  the  sub- 
ject of  Irish  university  education. 

Out  of  this  Ministerial  concession  arose  a  most 
unpleasant  episode.  The  bill  notoriously  did  not 
attempt  to  do  full  justice  to  the  Catholic  body. 
Mr.  Parnell  firmly  held  the  view  that  the  same 
method  which  had  forced  it  into  being  could  im- 
prove it  in  constitution.  Several  of  the  Irish 
Catholic  members  were  of  a  like  conviction,  and 
were  anxious  to  keep  up  the  pressure  on  Govern- 
ment. But,  alas  !  a  majority  of  the  Irish  Catholic 
members  would  not  agree  to  this  courageous  and 
obviously  right  course.  Sharp  words  are  said  to 
have  passed  between  the  two  sections  at  a  private 
meeting  of  the  party  ;  and  Mr.  Edmund  Dwyer 
Gray,  member  for  Tipperary  County,  and  pro- 
prietor   of   the   Freeman's  Journal,  felt  himself 


C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  I\  163 

especially  aggrieved  by  Mr.  Parnell  through 
something  that  took  place  on  the  occasion.  He 
revenged  himself  in  the  columns  of  his  paper  by 
floating  the  storvthat  Mr.  Parnell  had  called  those 
who  differed  from  him  "  a  cowardly  set  of  Papist 
rats,"  and  another  story  which  charged  him  with 
having  used  offensive  epithets  in  regard  to  several 
of  his  brother  members.  The  first  story  was 
promptly  contradicted  by  five  of  the  Catholic 
members  present  at  the  meeting  —  all  men  of  the 
highest  character,  both  personally  and  politically. 
Three  others,  who  politically  cannot  be  said  to 
stand  by  any  means  so  high,  gave  a  kind  of  sup- 
port to  Mr.  Gray's  statement,  but  all  three  differed 
materially  in  their  versions  of  the  words  alleged 
to  have  been  used  by  Mr.  Parnell.  The  secoud 
story,  when  traced  to  its  origin,  was  found  to 
have  no  foundation  whatever.  The  whole  country 
rose  almost  as  one  man  to  sustain  the  member 
for  Meath  under  these  unfair  attacks,  and  both 
Mr.  Gray  and  his  journal  fell  into  deep  discredit. 
A  reconciliation  between  the  two  gentlemen  was 
effected  through  the  intervention  of  his  Grace 
the  Archbishop  of  Cashel,  Mr.  Parnell  behaving 
with  the  utmost  magnanimity  in  the  affair. 

The  Irish  University  Act  —  which,  though  it  did 
not  confer  complete  equality  on  the  Catholics,  was 
yet  a  very  useful  measure — was  the  trophy  Mr. 
Parnell  had  to  show  for  his  Parliamentary  war- 
fare of  1879.     It  is  needles  to  recall  that  by  this 


164  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

time  he  had  all  Ireland  at  his  back,  except  the 
political  tricksters  and  the  British  party-men.  A 
striking  proof  of  the  fact  was  afforded  by  the 
Ennis  election  in  the  Summer  of  1879.  In  that 
spirited  town,  so  celebrated  for  its  connection 
with  Catholic  Emancipation  just  half  a  century 
before,  Mr.  Parnell  was  able  to  carry  a  candidate 
pledged  to  the  active  policy  in  Parliament,  not- 
withstanding the  opposition  of  the  bishop  of  the 
diocese  and  the  local  clergy.  It  need  hardly  be 
observed  that  the  population  of  Eunis  are  among 
the  most  devotedly  Catholic  in  the  world,  and  that 
nowhere  is  the  advice  of  appointed  spiritual 
guides  received  with  more  unqualified  respect,  and 
ordinarily  with  more  unqualified  acceptance,  even 
in  temporal  concerns. 

Mr.  Parnell  had  long  seen  how  destructive  to 
Irish  prosperity  was  the  system  of  Irish  landlord- 
ism. Scarcely  had  the  agitation  for  a  reduction 
of  rents  begun  than  he  reduced  the  rents  of  his 
own  tenants,  although,  as  may  well  be  supposed, 
they  were  not  rack-rents.  From  the  outset  he 
flung  himself  into  the  land  agitation  started  by 
Mr.  Davitt,  coming  over  from  the  London  Parlia- 
ment to  speak  at  one  of  the  earliest  Mayo  meetings 
in  the  beginning  of  the  Spring  of  1879.  When 
his  harassing  Parliamentary  labors  were  closed  for 
the  session,  instead  of  taking  required  rest,  as 
others  would  have  done,  he  went  into  the  land 
agitation   heart  and  soul,  attending  meetings  in 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  165 

all  parts  of  the  country.  One  very  appreciable 
effect  of  the  agitation  was  a  widespread  reduction 
of  rents  which  retained  millions  of  pounds  in  the 
impoverished  tenants'  pockets.  More  valuable 
still  were  the  lessons  impressed  by  Mr.  Parnell  on 
the  awakening  tillers  of  the  soil.  Among  others 
he  taught  them  that  it  was  wrong  to  let  themselves 
and  their  families  starve  in  order  to  pay  rack-rents 
to  landlords ;  he  taught  them  to  organize  and 
combine  for  mutual  protection  ;  he  taught  them  to 
regard  the  establishment  of  a  peasant  proprietary 
as  the  one  permanent  settlement  of  the  Irish  land 
question  ;  and  he  struck  out  a  practicable  plan 
which,  while  compensating  the  landlords  for  the 
relinquishment  of  their  proprietorial  privileges, 
would  inevitably  transfer  to  the  tillers  the  owner- 
ship of  the  soil. 

Finally,  seeing  that  the  British  Government  did 
not  mean  to  come  to  the  relief  of  the  unfortunate 
people  trembling  on  the  verge  of  starvation,  and 
that  it  did  mean  to  uphold  the  rapacious  system  of 
landlordism  which  had  driven  them  there,  he  de- 
termined to  appeal  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States.  They  were  free ;  they  were  generous ; 
they  were  powerful ;  the  moral  influence  of  their 
public  opinion  would  be  a  tremendous  force  if  ar- 
rayed on  the  side  of  a  plundered  people.  To 
them  he  would  speak  with  the  living  voice  ;  before 
them  he  would  plainly  put  the  case  of  his  clients. 


166  C.    S.    PARNELL,  M.  P. 

He  was  commissioned  by  the  Irish  National  Land 
League  and  Tenants'  Defence  Association. 

The  time  of  his  departure  was  postponed  con- 
siderably by  a  rumor,  which  seems  to  have  been 
skilfully  set  afloat  by  some  one  from  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Dublin  Castle,  that  the  Government  in- 
tended to  arrest  him  on  a  charge  of  sedition,  just 
as  it  had  arrested  Messrs.  Davitt,  Daly,  Brennan, 
and  Killen  for  words  spoken  at  land  meetings. 
Mr.  Parnell  boldly  stayed  to  meet  the  arrest. 

Finding  that  it  came  not,  he,  in  conjunction 
with  Mr.  John  Dillon,  dared  the  Winter's  storms 
and  gave  up  the  social  pleasures  of  the  festive 
Christmas  season  in  the  execution  of  their  mis- 
sion. Christmas  Day  he  spent  in  the  middle  of 
the  Atlantic;  and  as  for  storms,  his  voyage  was 
one  of  the  most  tempestuous  known.  One  of  the 
finest  of  ocean  steamers,  which  bore  him  and  his 
patriotic  colleague,  was,  by  stress  of  weather,  de- 
layed between  three  and  four  days  longer  than 
the  ordinary  voyage.  The  excitement  throughout 
Ireland  was  painful  in  its  intensity  as  morning 
after  morning  went  by  after  the  eleventh  day,  and 
the  telegraph  had  not  flashed  back  the  news  of  the 
vessel's  safe  arrival  ki  New  York  harbor.  When 
that  welcome  news  did  come  however,  and  all  fear 
for  Mr.  ParnelPs  safety  was  at  an  end,  there  was 
a  general  and  grateful  sense  of  relief. 

Landlordism  dies  hard.  Scarcely  had  he  set 
foot  on  the  American  shore  than  he  found  himself 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  167 

confronted  by  a  host  of  hostile  influences  for  which 
he  could  scarcely  have  been  prepared.  The  cables 
had  been  busily  employed  against  him  in  advance  ; 
a  section  of  the  press  had  been  "  nobbled  "  ;  so  too 
had  a  section  of  prominent  and  once  popular  Irish- 
Americans.  But  the  member  for  Meath  was  not  a 
man  to  be  easily  dismayed.  He  fronted  every  foe 
in  turn,  and  battled  as  stoutly  and  steadily  in  the 
new  arena  as  in  the  old.  In  spite  of  all  opposi- 
tion, covert  as  well  as  open,  his  mission  must  be 
accounted  a  great  success. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  follow  him  through  his 
American  tour.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  his  progress 
was  like  that  of  some  beloved  monarch  through 
crowds  of  rejoicing  subjects.  Cities  contended 
for  his  presence ;  invitations  rained  on  him ; 
deputations  waited  on  him  from  far  oft'  places  ; 
governors  of  States,  mayors  of  towns,  and  other 
public  dignitaries,  thronged  around  him ;  the 
thunder  of  cannon  saluted  him  in  many  places  on 
his  arrival ;  the  citizen  soldiery  of  a  free  people 
frequently  lined  his  route  or  surrounded  his  car- 
riage as  guards  of  honor;  great  processions  were 
organized  for  his  reception  ;  darkness  was  oftcu 
banished  for  him  by  the  glare  of  innumerable 
lighted  torches ;  presentations  of  divers  sorts 
flowed  in  on  him  —  addresses  of  welcome,  odes 
and  poems,  floral  wreaths  and  bouquets ;  f6tes 
and  banquets  were  prepared  for  him  in  profusion ; 
at  wayside  railway  stations  he  was  called  on  to, 


168  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

speak  from  his  car ;  the  largest  halls  were  every- 
where secured  for  his  lectures,  and  these  were 
always  crammed ;  nay,  in  Chicago,  which  has  one 
of  the  vastest  and  finest  opera-houses  in  the  world, 
that  building  was  deemed  far  too  small  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  many  thousands  who  were 
eager  to  see  and  hear  him,  so  the  immense  Expo- 
sition Building  of  the  city  was  specially  prepared 
for  the  delivery  of  his  address,  and  twenty  thou- 
sand persons,  paying  each  either  two  or  four  shil- 
lings for  the  privilege  of  admission,  gathered  into 
the  enormous  hall  on  the  night  he  spoke  there. 
The  admission  fees  to  his  lectures  were  invariably 
as  high  as  at  Chicago,  and  the  various  halls  were 
as  invariably  packed.  Not  alone  through  those 
fees,  but  by  direct  subscription  also,  he  received 
large  sums  of  money,  which  he  promptly  trans- 
mitted to  Ireland  for  relief  purposes ;  to  say  noth- 
ing of  the  fact  that  by  his  presence  and  proceedings 
he  briskly  stimulated  sources  from  which  otherwise 
but  little  was  to  be  expected,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
New  York  Herald  fund.  In  short,  the  man  who 
went  to  the  United  States  to  plead  in  behalf  of  a 
starving  people,  and  denounce  the  most  vicious 
system  of  land  tenure  in  the  world,  had  greater 
than  a  conqueror's  triumphs  in  his  marvellous 
progress.  To  crown  all,  he  received  from  the 
legislature  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  from 
several  of  the  State  legislatures,  the  highest  honor 
it  was  in  their  power  to  pay,  in  the  granting  to 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  169 

him  of  the  privilege  of  addressing  them  from  the 
floor  of  the  chamber  precisely  as  if  he  were  a 
member.  The  scene  in  the  Washington  House  of 
Representatives  was  specially  remarkable.  The 
galleries  of  the  House  were  packed  immediately 
upon  the  opening  of  the  doors,  and  the  floor  was 
filled  with  members  and  their  wives  and  daughters 
to  testify  their  recognition  of  the  services  rendered 
by  Mr.  Parnell  to  Ireland.  The  Speaker  of  the 
House  introduced  the  distinguished  guest  in  the 
following  words :  — 

"  The  House  will  be  in  order.  The  session  of 
this  evening  is  in  consequence  of  a  resolution 
adopted  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  which 
the  Chair  will  now  cause  to  be  read  by  the  Clerk." 

Following  the  reading  of  the  resolution,  the 
Speaker  said  :  — 

"In  conformity  with  the  terms  of  this  resolution 
I  have  the  honor  and  pleasure  to  introduce  to  you 
Charles  Stewart  Parnell,  of  Ireland,  who  comes 
among  us  to  speak  of  the  distresses  of  his  country. " 

When  the  applause  in  the  densely  packed  gal- 
leries had  subsided,  Mr.  Parnell  addressed  the 
House,  and  was  listened  to  with  the  closest  atten- 
tion. His  address  occupied  about  half  an  hour  in 
its  delivery,  and  was,  says  a  listener,  a  "calm  and 
able  presentation  of  the  evils  under  which  Ireland 
suffers." 

After  the  House,  on  the  motion  of  Mr.  O'Con- 
nor, of   South  Carolina,  had  adjourned,  a  large 


170  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

number  breasted  the  severe  snow-storm  raging  to 
attend  the  serenade  to  Mr.  Parnell  at  Willard's 
Hotel,  tendered  him  by  Professor  Joyce's  band. 
A  collation  had  been  prepared  by  the  Con- 
gressional Reception  Committee  for  their  distin- 
guished guests.  Mr.  Young,  Governor  of  Ohio, 
presided ;  Mr.  O'Connor  acting  as  vice-president. 
Speaker  Randall  was  also  present;  and,  in  truth, 
the  whole  company  was  a  distinguished  one. 

The  remarkable  honor  conferred  on  Mr.  Parnell 
by  the  Washington  House  of  Representatives  had 
but  three  precedents  —  namely,  in  the  cases  of 
Lafayette,  the  hero  of  two  continents ;  the  cele- 
brated Bishop  England,  of  Charleston  ;  and  Kos- 
suth, the  noted  Hungarian  patriot,  when  in 
enforced  exile.  It  should  be  noted  also  that  the 
President,  surrounded  by  his  Cabinet,  gave  an 
audience  to  Mr.  Parnell,  as  if  he  were  the  duly 
accredited  envoy  of  some  organized  and  inde- 
pendent foreign  State.  Such  honors  well  mark 
the  effect  of  the  Irish  ambassador's  mission. 


PART    II. 


The  news  of  the  dissolution  of  Parliament, 
which  reached  him  while  lecturing  in  Canada, 
compelled  him  to  bring  his  American  tour  to  an 
end,  but  not  before  he  had  succeeded  in  collecting 
an  enormous  sum  of  money  for  the  relief  of  the 
suffering  poor  of  Ireland  and  for  the  support  and 
encouragement  of  the  Irish  cause.  Upon  the 
receipt  of  the  message,  he  hastened  to  New  York, 
and,  taking  the  next  steamer  for  Ireland,  landed 
at  Queenstown  on  March  21,  1880,  amid  the 
welcoming  cheers  of  the  thousands  who  had  as- 
sembled to  do  him  honor.  The  nation  regarded 
him  as  its  savior ;  and  everywhere  that  he  went 
towns  and  cities  strove  to  excel  each  other  in  giv- 
ing expression  to  their  appreciation  of  his  services 
to  Ireland. 

But,  gratifying  as  such  evidences  of  the  public 
esteem  must  have  been  to  him,  Mr.  Parnell  could 
give  but  little  of  his  time  to  them.  The  elections 
would  be  upon  him  shortly,  and  no  one  knew 
better  than  he  the  magnitude  of  the  task  before 
him.  It  would  require  all  his  time  and  all  his 
171 


172  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

energies,  and  he  gave  of  both  unstintedly.  For 
five  weeks  he  travelled  incessantly  from  town  to 
town  all  over  Ireland,  arousing  the  people,  per- 
fecting organization,  and  selecting  and  setting  up 
candidates  for  the  next  Parliament.  He  worked 
with  a  marvellous  energy,  and  gave  himself  hardly 
any  rest ;  but  he  bad  neither  time  enough  at  his 
disposal  nor  sufficient  funds  at  his  command  to 
enable  him  to  contest  all  the  constituencies.  At 
the  ensuing  elections,  therefore,  a  number  of  them 
had  to  be  let  go  by  default.  Still,  the  result  was 
regarded  as  a  great  Parnellite  victory ;  for  wher- 
ever Mr.  Parnell  had  been  able  to  lay  his  policy 
before  the  people,  it  had  received  the  sanction  of 
their  votes.  Mr.  ParnelPs  own  popularity  may 
be  judged  from  the  fact  that  he  was  returned  to  rep- 
resent three  constituencies,  viz.,  Cork  City,  Mayo 
County,  and  Meath  County.  The  returns  showed 
that  thirty-seven  National  Home  Rulers  had  been 
elected,  while  the  full  Home  Eule  strength  was 
sixty-two.  Many  of  the  members  returned  as 
Home  Rulers,  however,  were  known  to  be  luke- 
warm in  the  popular  cause,  and  several  were  out- 
spoken in  their  opposition  to  Mr.  Parnell  and  his 
policy. 

The  first  duty  of  the  new  party  was  to  choose  a 
leader ;  and  for  this  position  there  were  two  can- 
didates, namely,  Mr.  Parnell  and  Mr.  William 
Shaw,  Member  for  Cork  County.  The  latter  had 
been  one  of  Mr.  Butt's  right-hand  men,  who,  after 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  173 

the  decease  of  that  leader,  had  been  tacitly  allowed 
to  direct  the  party,  and  he  had  the  support  of  all 
the  conservative  and  aristocratic  influences  in  the 
organization.  Most  of  the  men  of  brains  and  the 
men  of  energy,  however,  were  heartily  in  favor  of 
the  younger  candidate.  To  decide  the  question, 
a  meeting  was  called  in  the  City  Hall,  Dublin,  for 
May  17,  1880,  and  the  balloting  resulted  in  the 
election  of  Mr.  Parnell  by  a  vote  of  twenty-three, 
to  eighteen  for  Mr.  Shaw. 

This  result  was  hailed  with  joy  by  the  young  men 
of  the  party,  and  by  the  Irish  people  generally. 
They  regarded  it  as  the  guaranty  of  a  change 
from  the  do-nothing  to  the  progressive  —  nay,  to 
the  aggressive  —  policy;  but  there  were  many  ex- 
pressions of  distrust,  also,  and  forebodings  of  fail- 
ure to  the  Home  Rule  cause.  Mr.  Shaw's  followers 
—  for  he  still  retained  a  considerable  following 
among  the  older  members  —  were  very  sore  over 
the  defeat  of  their  chief,  and  early  exhibited  a 
tendency  to  disloyalty  to  the  new  leader,  which 
the  croakers  said  presaged  the  wrecking  of  the 
Home  Rule  party. 

The  first  break  occurred  when  the  new  Parlia- 
ment assembled,  on  May  20,  1880.  On  this  occa- 
sion, Mr.  Parnell  and  his  supporters  took  seats  in 
the  Opposition,  below  the  gangway  ;  while  Mr, 
Shaw  and  his  followers  ranged  themselves  among 
the  Radicals,  on  the  Government  side  of  the 
House.    That  the  secession  was  to  be  a  permanent 


174  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

one  soon  became  evident ;  for  the  Shawites  gradu- 
ally ceased  to  attend  the  private  meetings  of  the 
Irish  party,  and  after  a  time  gave  up  all  pretence 
even  of  belonging  to  that  body. 

This  sundering  of  its  ranks  was  a  serious  blow 
to  the  Home  Rule  party  ;  but  those  who  predicted 
that  it  would  collapse  in  consequence,  underrated 
the  genius  of  Mr.  Parnell.  He  regretted  the 
division  keenly,  for  his  own  sake  and  for  that  of 
Ireland;  but,  instead  of  disheartening  him,  the 
loss  of  twenty-odd  members  only  spurred  him  on 
to  greater  efforts.  In  the  new  Parliament,  stern 
duties  awaited  him  ;  for  the  Gladstone  Government 
gave  no  sign  of  any  intention  to  deal  with  the 
Irish  land  question  —  and  the  land  question,  in  the 
opinion  of  Mr.  Parnell,  could  not  be  neglected 
except  at  the  risk  of  great  national  calamity.  By 
the  introduction  of  a  Suspension  of  Ejectments 
Bill,  and  by  a  series  of  moves  wdiich  plainly  indi- 
cated hostile  intentions,  he  succeeded  in  forcing 
the  hands  of  the  ministry,  and  the  famous  Dis- 
turbance Bill  w7as  the  result.  It  was  during  the 
debate  on  this  bill  that  Mr.  Gladstone  gave  utter- 
ance' to  his  memorable  declaration  that  w  in  the 
circumstances  of  distress  in  which  Ireland  then  was, 
a  sentence  of  eviction  was  equivalent  to  a  sentence 
of  death."  The  Disturbance  Bill  was  successfully 
carried  through  the  Commons,  but  it  was  summa- 
rily rejected  by  the  House  of  Lords  ;  and  the  Irish 
leader  was  once  more  thrown  upon  his  own  re- 
sources. 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  175 

During  this  session  it  was  conceded  on  every 
hand  that  Mr.  Parnell  had  proved  his  capacity  for 
leadership,  beyond  all  question,  and  the  judgment 
of  those  who  had  elected  him  was  amply  vindi- 
cated. After  the  close  of  Parliament,  he  applied 
himself  energetically  to  the  propagation  of  the 
principles  of  the  Land  League  in  Ireland,  and  his 
labors  were  crowned  with  the  most  satisfactory 
results.  Monster  meetings,  rivalling  those  of 
O'ConnelFs  time,  were  held  all  over  Ireland,  and 
were  addressed  by  either  himself  or  his  lieu- 
tenants. The  movement  increased  in  strength 
with  marvellous  rapidity,  and  soon  developed  into 
the  most  wide-reaching  and  most  powerful  of  Irish 
organizations.  Indeed,  so  rapid  was  its  growth, 
and  the  power  it  developed,  that  the  Government 
determined  to  strike  a  blow.  In  a  speech  at 
Ennis,  Mr.  Parnell  had  told  the  farmers  that  they 
were  to  trust  their  own  determination  and  their 
own  combination,  and  to  place  no  faith  in  the 
promises  of  ministers.  For  this  and  other 
speeches,  equally  revolutionary  from  a  Government 
point  of  view,  Mr.  Parnell,  with  fourteen  of  his 
colleagues  in  the  land  agitation,  was  subjected  to 
a  prosecution  for  "conspiracy  to  impoverish  land- 
lords." The  purpose  of  this  prosecution,  it  was 
plain  to  everybody,  was  to  weaken  the  Land 
League  and  intimidate  its  leaders,  but  in  this  it 
failed  utterly  and  miserably.  The  Irish  people 
rallied  loyally  to  the  support  of  their  leaders,  and 


176  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

the  latter  boldly  defied  the  government  to  prove 
them  guilty  of  any  illegal  action.  A  popular 
fund  was  subscribed,  and  the  most  eminent  counsel 
were  retained  to  defend  the  traversers.  The  trial 
in  Dublin  followed,  and  dragged  on  wearily  for 
many  days,  but  from  the  first  it  was  evident  that 


MICHAEL  DAVITT. 


no  conviction  could  be  arrived  at,  and  all  interest 
in  the  case  had  flagged  long  before  the  end  came 
—  the  jury  standing  ten  for  acquittal  and  two  for 
conviction.  Before  this  result  was  reached,  the 
year  1880  had  expired. 

The  year  1881  is  memorable  in  the  history  of 
the  Parneliite  party  because  of  the  great  fight 
against  Coercion,  the  passage  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  177 

Land  Act,  the  arrest  of  Mr.  Parnell,  Mr.  Davitt, 
John  Dillon,  and  other  leaders,  the  proclamation 
of  the  Land  League,  and  the  issue  of  the  No  Rent 
manifesto.  Parliament  met  on  January  6,  1881, 
and  the  government  announced  its  intention  to 
pass  a  Coercion  Bill  for  Ireland.  Mr.  Parnell  was 
determined  to  prevent  this,  if  possible,  and  on  the 
very  first  night  of  the  session  he  began  the  ob- 
struction by  moving  an  amendment  to  the  address 
in  reply  to  the  Queen's  speech,  affirming  "  that 
peace  and  tranquillity  cannot  be  promoted  in 
Ireland  by  suspending  any  of  the  constitutional 
rights  of  the  people."  This  amendment  was  de- 
bated at  length  by  nearly  every  one  of  the  Par- 
nellite  members,  and  when  it  at  last  reached  a 
division  and  was  defeated,  other  amendments 
were  brought  forward  and  debated  in  the  same 
manner,  and  in  this  way  the  passage  of  the  ad- 
dress was  delayed  for  two  weeks,  despite  all  the 
efforts  of  the  Government.  But  it  was  not  until 
January  24  that  the  great  fight  began  in  earnest. 
On  that  date  Mr.  Forster  asked  leave  to  introduce 
his  M  Coercion  Bill,"  and  Mr.  Gladstone  moved 
that  the  two  coercion  bills  should  have  precedence 
of  all  other  business.  The  Irish  members  re- 
sponded to  Mr.  Gladstone's  motion  with  defiant 
jeers,  followed  by  motion  after  motion  of  an  ob- 
structive character,  each  motion  being  discussed 
at  length.     During  the  evening,  Mr.  Bigirar  was 

O  D  o '  CO 

"named"  by  the  speaker,  and  was  compelled  to 


178  C.    S.    PAKNELL,    M.   P. 

withdraw  to  the  gallery ;  but  his  fellow-members 
kept  up  the  battle  until  ten  o'clock  on  the  follow- 
ing morning,  when  Mr.  Gladstone's  motion  was 
finally  carried,  by  a  vote  of  two  hundred  and  fifty- 
one  to  thirty-three.  But  on  the  question  of  giving 
Mr.  Forster  leave  to  introduce  his  bill  the  Par- 
nellites  yet  had  fighting-ground,  and  on  that  they 
kept  the  House  going  from  the  27th  to  the  31st  of 
January. 

By  that  time  the  Government  and  most  of  the 
English  members,  it  may  well  be  imagined,  were 
furiously  angry  at  the  handful  of  Irishmen  who 
thus  brought  the  traditional  dignity  of  the  time- 
honored  Parliament  of  England  into  contempt. 
The  English  press  and  the  English  pulpit  hurled 
the  most  virulent  denunciations  upon  the  devoted 
head  of  Mr.  Parnell,  and  the  high-toned  British 
journals  were  made  mediums  for  pouring  all  sorts 
of  abuse  upon,  and  even  of  conveying  threats  of 
personal  violence  to,  the  Irish  leader  and  his  fol- 
lowers. But  Mr.  Parnell  and  his  colleagues  held 
to  their  course  unflinchingly  through  it  all,  and  the 
battle  went  on. 

On  the  31st  of  January  the  Government  adopted 
new  tactics,  by  resorting  to  the  system  of  relays, 
relying  upon  their  overwhelming  numbers.  But 
the  Parnellites  were  not  to  be  beaten  so.  They 
were  fortunately  possessed  of  many  good  speak- 
ers, and  they  divided  their  little  party  so  as  to 
meet  the   attack  in  its   new   form.     All  through 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    t\  179 

that  night  the  struggle  raged ;  then  all  the  follow- 
ing day  and  the  next  night,  and  the  motion  to  give 
Mr.  Forster  leave  was  only  carried  at  last  on  the 
morning  of  the  2d  of  February,  by  the  arbitrary 
action  of  the  Speaker,  who  himself  violated  the 
rules  of  the  House  in  refusing  to  "  see  "  the  Irish 
members. 

To  expedite  the  passage  of  the  bill  itself,  and 
to  thwart  all  further  practice  of  obstruction  by  the 
Parnellites,  Mr.  Gladstone  now  introduced  his 
new  "Urgency  Rules,"  giving  the  Government 
extraordinary  powers  to  curtail  debate,  and  ruth- 
lessly abridging  many  of  the  cherished  privileges 
of  members  of  Parliament.  It  was  for  refusing 
to  take  part  in  the  division  on  these  rules  that  the 
Parnellites  were  expelled  temporarily  from  the 
House.  After  the  adoption  of  these  rules,  prog- 
ress on  the -"Coercion  Bill"  became  more  rapid, 
and  it  finally  passed  the  Commons  on  the  11th  of 
March. 

On  the  7th  of  April,  1881,  Mr.  Gladstone 
brought  forward  his  famous  "  Land  Act."  This 
bill  was  a  distinct  concession  to  Irish  sentiment, 
and,  although  far  from  being  perfect,  was  valuable 
as  a  progressive  measure.  By  its  provisions,  the 
Irish  tenant-farmer  was  given  four  things  for  which 
he  had  long  contended,  viz.,  peasant  proprietor- 
ship, fair  rents,  free  sale,  and  fixity  of  tenure. 
Under  it,  his  ancient  tenant-right  was  re-estab- 
lished, and  if  he  desired  to  change  from  the  condi- 


180  C.    8.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

tion  of  a  secure  tenant  to  that  of  a  proprietor,  and 
could  find  an  owner  willing  to  sell,  he  might  obtain 
from  the  State  an  advance  of  three-fourths  of  the 
purchase-money ;  or,  if  no  such  opportunity 
offered,  he  could  yet  obtain  advantages  such  as 
accrue  from  ownership,  by  becoming  a  fee  farmer, 
and  this  the  State  would  enable  him  to  do  by 
coming  to  his  aid  with  one-half  the  sum  required. 
In  the  consideration  of  this  measure,  Mr.  Par* 
nell  and  his  party  determined,  after  much  delib- 
eration, to  take  a  neutral  position.  They  were 
compelled  to  this  course,  because  the  bill  was  not 
so  complete  a  one  as  they  had  labored  to  obtain. 
They  knew  that  it  would  not  satisfy  the  Irish  peo- 
ple, even  though  it  would  result  materially  to  their 
benefit ;  and  Mr.  Parnell  could  not,  therefore, 
accept  it  as  a  final  solution  of  the  Irish  land  ques- 
tion. Still,  he  recognized  the  fact  that  in  com- 
pelling the  Government  to  give  its  attention  to  the 
Irish  land  question,  even  though  it  was  done  half- 
heartedly, the  Irish  cause  had  scored  a  victory, 
and  for  that  reason  he  would  not  place  any  obsta- 
cles in  the  way  of  the  passage  of  the  measure. 
Indeed,  at  least  one  Irish  member,  Mr.  T.  M. 
Healy,  openly  disobeyed  the  party  injunction,  and 
took  an  active  part  in  helping  the  bill  through. 
One  result  of  this  disobedience  was  the  "Healy 
Clause,"  the  most  radical  clause  in  the  bill,  which 
provided  that  "  no  rent  should  be  made  payable 
in   any   proceedings  under  the   act  upon  any  im- 


C.    S.    PAKNELL,    M.    P.  181 

provements  effected  by  the  tenant  or  his  predeces- 
sor in  title"  ;  but  this  clause  was  modified  in  the 
House  of  Lords  by  an  addition  which  read,  "  unless 
the  tenant  has  been  paid  or  otherwise  compensated 
for  these  improvements  "  and  the  addition  practi- 
cally nullified  the  clause,  for,  by  a  quibbling 
decision  of  the  courts,  it  was  afterwards  held  that 
enjoyment  of  the  use  of  the  improvements  consti- 
tuted compensation  within  the  meaning  of  the  act, 
which  was  as  much  as  to  say  that  by  enjoying  the  use 
of  his  own  property  a  man  invalidates  his  title  in  it. 

Mr.  Parnell  was  severely  criticised  at  the  time 
for  the  position  which  he  took  with  respect  to  this 
bill ;  but  time  and  circumstances  have  successfully 
vindicated  his  judgment.  He  had  forced  the  Gov- 
ernment to  make  an  effort  to  redress  crying  Irish 
grievances ;  but,  as  the  measure  which  they  pro- 
posed was  not,  as  he  then  believed  —  and  every- 
body now  concedes  —  an  adequate  one,  he  would 
not  accept  it  as  being  perfect.  He  was,  however, 
desirous  that,  as  a  progressive  measure,  the  bill 
should  pass ;  and  on  two  occasions  when  the  bill 
was  in  peril  he  went  promptly  to  its  aid,  and  by 
the  votes  of  the  Irish  party  saved  it  from  defeat. 
The  K  Land  Act "  finally  passed  the  House  of  Com- 
mons on  July  28  ;  a  few  days  later  it  passed  the 
Lords,  and  early  in  August  it  received  the  Royal 
signature  and  became  a  law. 

Mr.  Parnell  now  turned  his  attention  to  enabling 
the    tenant-farmers   to   avail    themselves   of    the 


182  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.   P. 

beneficial  provisions  of  the  act,  and  in  the  way  of 
this  there  were  many  serious  obstacles.  The  ex- 
pense of  application  to  the  courts  was  large ;  the 
landlords  were  disposed  to  resist  every  reduction 
in  rents  ;  and,  on  the  whole,  it  was  doubtful  if  the 
expense  of  litigation  would  not  more  than  offset 
any  reductions  that  might  eventually  result.  Un- 
der these  circumstances,  Mr.  Parnell  considered 
that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Land  League  to  back 
up  the  tenants,  particularly  as  the  landlords  had 
organized  a  Defence  Association  to  protect  their 
interests  ;  and  he  at  once  began  preparing  a  num- 
ber of  test  cases  to  submit  to  the  courts  at  the 
expense  of  the  League,  his  idea  being  that  when 
these  were  decided  they  would  form  a  basis  upon 
which  all  other  reductions  could  be  made. 

The  Land  League  in  Ireland  was  now  enjoying 
the  height  of  its  power,  and  its  ramifications  ex- 
tended to  the  remotest  portions  of  the  land.  It 
had  become,  perhaps,  the  most  potent  organization 
in  Irish  history.  Its  meetings  equalled  in  magni- 
tude the  famous  assemblies  of  the  Repeal  agitation, 
and  they  were  much  more  frequently  held.  It  had 
assumed  the  form  of  a  system  of  government, 
eclipsing  the  recognized  government  of  Ireland ; 
its  edicts  were  regarded  as  the  highest  law  by  the 
great  majority  of  the  people,  and  its  constituted 
courts  were  more  largely  resorted  to  than  those  of 
the  realm. 

It  was  this  powerful  engine  which  Mr.  Parnell 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  183 

now  proposed  to  bring  to  the  aid  of  the  tenants  in 
securing  an  impartial  administration  of  the  new 
Land  Act,  and  upon  the  assembling  of  the  League 
convention  in  Dublin,  after  the  close  of  Parlia- 
ment, he  laid  the  subject  before  the  one  thousand 
delegates,  for  their  consideration,  and  submitted 
his  plan  of  action,  which  was  unanimously  ap- 
proved of.  The  resolutions  passed  by  the  con- 
vention respecting  the  test  cases,  and  Mr.  ParnelPs 
speech  in  their  support,  attracted  great  attention 
in  England  and  Ireland,  and  were  bitterly  com- 
mented upon  by  the  Government  organs.  Mr. 
Gladstone,  in  particular,  was  very  wroth  at  the 
Irish  leader,  and  in  a  speech  which  he  made  at 
Leeds,  Eng.,  in  defence  of  his  Land  Bill,  he  pub- 
licly accused  Mr.  Parnell  of  being  the  instigator 
of  outrages  in  Ireland.  He  charged  the  Irish 
leader  with  preaching  public  plunder  also,  and 
heaped  up  reproaches  upon  him  because  he  did 
not  publicly  repudiate  the  acts  of  the  dynamiters 
in  England. 

The  speech  was,  in  fact,  a  severe  and  measured 
arraignment  of  Mr.  ParnelPs  political  life  and 
purposes,  and  it  must  be  said  that  the  Prime  Min- 
ister displayed  but  little  regard  for  the  proprieties, 
or  even  for  truth,  in  its  delivery.  Mr.  Parnell 
had  always  discountenanced  outrages  in  Ireland, 
and  did  all  in  his  power  to  prevent  them.  M  Give 
no  excuse  for  violence  on  the  part  of  the  Govern- 
ment," he  time  and  again  told  the  people,  "and 


184  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

our  great  cause  is  won."  Nor  could  the  slightest 
proof  be  brought  forward  to  connect  him  with 
the  dynamiters  either  in  act  or  sympathy.  Mr. 
Gladstone  was  at  the  time,  however,  apprehensive 
of  the  success  of  his  bill,  and  this  may  be  pleaded, 
perhaps,  in  extenuation  of  his  virulence.  He  as- 
sumed—  and  quite  gratuitously,  too  —  that  Mr. 
Parnell  was  opposed  to  the  purposes  of  the  Land 
Act,  and  that  he  was  going  to  render  it  inoperative 
simply  by  getting  the  farmers  not  to  make  appli- 
cations under  it;  whereas,  in  truth,  Mr.  Parnell 
was  acting  all  the  while  in  the  greatest  good  faith. 
He  was  not  satisfied  with  the  measure,  it  is  true, 
but  he  frankly  acknowledged  that  it  had  good 
points  in  it,  and,  if  fairly  administered,  would  con- 
duce considerably  to  the  benefit  of  the  Irish  ten- 
ant-farmers. And  it  was  that  this  benefit  might 
be  secured  without  loss  and  without  curtailment, 
that  he  proposed  that  the  bill  should  be  taken 
advantage  of  in  a  systematic  manner.  Those  best 
qualified  to  judge  of  the  subject,  including  the 
Land  Commissioners  themselves,  have  since  con- 
fessed that  Mr.  Parnell's  plan  was  comprehensive, 
feasible,  and  decisive,  and  one  calculated  to  secure 
uniformity  of  judgment,  and,  as  a  consequence, 
a  decrease  of  litigation,  which  would  result  in  a 
saving  to  landlords  and  tenants  alike.  His  action 
and  advice  were,  moreover,  entirely  constitutional. 
He  simply  proposed  that  the  tenants  act  in  combi- 
nation, instead  of  individually,  the  end  in  view 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.   P.  185 

being  to  obtain  the  greatest  amount  of  benefit  at 
the  smallest  possible  cost.  The  landlords  had  a 
Property  Defence  Fund  Association,  representing 
at  the  time  five  million  pounds,  and  the  object  of 
it  was  to  weaken,  or  even  to  defeat,  the  purposes 
of  the  act  —  an  illegal  object,  while  Mr.  ParnelPs 
was  a  lawful  one ;  yet  Mr.  Gladstone  and  English- 
men generally  had  never  breathed  a  word  of 
remonstrance  against  the  one,  while  they  unspar- 
ingly denounced  the  Other. 

But  Mr.  Parnell  is  not  a  man  who  will  tamely 
submit  to  calumny  from  any  quarter,  high  or  low, 
and,  in  this  instances  he  did  not  allow  the  Prime 
Minister  to  go  unrebuked.  Two  days  later  he  ad- 
dressed upwards  of  ten  thousand  people  at  Wex- 
ford, and  in  the  course  of  his  speech  answered 
Mr.  Gladstone  in  kind.  His  utterances  were  sin- 
gularly open  and  defiant.  He  told  the  people 
that  they  had  gained  something  during  the  Land 
League  movement,  but  that  what  they  had  gained 
was  only  a  fraction  of  what  they  were  entitled  to. 
w  The  Irishman,"  he  said,  w  who  thinks  that  he  can 
throw  away  his  arms  now,  just  as  Grattan  dis- 
banded the  Volunteers,  in  1782,  will  find,  to  his 
sorrow  and  destruction,  when  too  late  that  he  has 
placed  himself  in  the  power  of  a  perfidious,  cruel, 
unrelenting  English  enemy. "  Again,  in  referring 
to  Mr.  Gladstone's  charge  that  he  (Mr.  Parnell) 
was  afraid,  now  that  the  Land  Act  was  passed, 
lest   the   people   of  England,  by  their   long-sus- 


186  C.    S.    PAHNELL,    M.    P. 

tained  efforts,  should  win  the  hearts  of  the  whole 
Irish  nation,  Mr.  Parnell  said,  "Long-sustained 
efforts  in  what?  Was  it  in  evicting  two  thousand 
tenants,  who  have  been  evicted  since  the  first  of 
last  January?  Was  it  in  putting  the  two  hundred 
honorable  and  brave  men  in  Kilmainham  and  the 
other  jails  of  the  country?  Was  it  in  issuing  a 
police  circular  of  a  more  infamous  character  than 
any  which  has  ever  been  devised  by  any  foreign 
despot?  Was  it  in  the  sending  of  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  rounds  of  ball-cartridges  to  his  Bashi- 
Bazouks  throughout  the  country?  Was  it  in 
sharpening  the  bayonets  of  the  latest  issue  to  the 
royal  Irish  constabulary  ?  And  if  it  was  not  all 
these  sustained  efforts,  which  Mr.  Gladstone  has 
taken  up  nobly  and  well  from  his  predecessors  in 
the  title,  of  misgoverning  Ireland,  I  should  like 
to  know  what  were  the  efforts  of  wrhich  William 
Ewart  Gladstone  talks.  He  charges  us  with  hav- 
ing refused  to  vote  for  the  second  reading  of  his 
Land  Act ;  he  charges  us  with  having  used  every 
effort  to  disparage,  to  discredit,  and,  if  we  could, 
to  destroy  his  Land  Bill ;  he  points  to  our  refusal 
to  compromise  our  position,  by  voting  on  the 
second  reading,  as  his  proof;  and  then  he  goes 
on  to  say  that  on  every  subsequent  occasion,  on 
the  two  subsequent  occasions  when  that  bill  w^as 
really  in  danger,  I  and  the  Irish  party  rescued 
Gladstone  and  his  cabinet  by  our  thirty-six  votes 
from  destruction  and   defeat.     And   then    in   the 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  187 

close  of  his  speech  he  admits  our  whole  position 
and  contention.  In  one  last  despairing  wail,  he 
says  that  when  the  Government  is  expected  to 
preserve  the  peace  it  has  no  moral  force  behind 
it.  The  Government  has  no  moral  force  behind 
it  in  Ireland.  The  whole  Irish  people  are  against 
them.  They  have  to  depend  for  their  support  on 
the  self-interest  of  a  very  small  minority  of  the 
people  of  this  country,  and,  therefore,  they  have 
no  moral  force  behind  them.  Mr.  Gladstone,  in 
those  few  short  words,  admits  that  the  English 
Government  has  failed  in  Ireland ;  he  admits  the 
contention  that  Grattan  and  the  volunteers  of  '82 
fought  for ;  he  admits  the  contention  that  the  men 
of  '98  lost  their  lives  for ;  he  admits  the  conten- 
tion that  O'Connell  argued  for;  he  admits  the 
contention  that  the  men  of  '48  staked  their  all 
for ;  he  admits  the  contention  that  the  men  of  '65, 
after  a  long  period  of  depression  and  of  apparent 
death  of  all  national  life  in  Ireland,  cheerfully 
faced  the  dungeon  and  the  horrors  of  penal  servi- 
tude for,  and  admits  the  contention  that  to-day 
you,  in  your  overpowering  multitudes,  have  re- 
established, and,  please  God,  will  bring  to  a  suc- 
cessful and  final  issue ;  namely,  that  England's 
mission  in  Ireland  has  been  a  failure,  and  that 
Irishmen  have  established  their  right  to  govern 
Ireland  by  laws  made  by  themselves  for  them- 
selves on  Irish  soil.  And  he  winds  up  with  a 
threat.      This   man  —  who    has   no  moral    force 


188  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

behind  him  —  he  winds  up  with  a  threat.  ?  No 
fear  of  force  and  no  fear  of  ruin  through  force 
shall,  so  far  as  we  are  concerned,  and  it  is  in  our 
power  to  decide  the  question,  prevent  the  Irish 
people  from  having  the  full  and  free  benefit  of 
the  Land  Act.'  I  say  it  is  not  in  his  power  to 
trample  on  the  aspirations  and  the  rights  of  the 
Irish  people,  with  no  moral  force  behind  him. 
These  are  very  brave  words  that  he  uses,  but  it 
strikes  me  that  they  have  a  ring  about  them  like 
the  whistle  of  a  schoolboy  on  his  way  through 
a  churchyard  at  night'  to  keep  up  his  courage. 
He  would  have  you  to  believe  that  he  is  not 
afraid  of  you,  because  he  has  disarmed  you,  be- 
cause he  has  attempted  to  disorganize  you,  be- 
cause he  knows  that  the  Irish  nation  is  to-day 
disarmed,  so  far  as  physical  weapons  go.  But 
he  does  not  hold  this  kind  of  language  with  the 
Boers.  What  did  he  do  at  the  commencement  of 
the  session?  He  said  something  of  this  kind. 
He  said  he  was  going  to  put  them  down ;  but,  as 
soon  as  he  had  discovered  that  they  were  able  to 
shoot  straighter  than  his  own  soldiers,  he  allowed 
these  few  men  to  put  himself  and  his  government 
down,  and,  though  he  has  attempted  to  regain 
some  of  his  lost  position  in  the  Transvaal  by  the 
subsequent  chicanery  of  diplomatic  negotiations, 
yet  that  sturdy  and  small  people  in  the  distant 
Transvaal  have  seen  through  Mr.  William  Ewart 
Gladstone,  and  they  have  told   him  again,  for  a 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  189 

second  time,  that  they  will  not  have  their  liberties 
filched  from  them  ;  and,  as  the  result,  I  believe 
we  shall  see  that  Mr.  Gladstone  will  again  yield 
to  the  people  of  the  Transvaal.  And  I  trust  we 
shall  see,  as  the  result  of  this  great  movement, 
that,  just  as  Mr.  Gladstone,  by  the  act  of  1881, 
has  eaten  all  his  bold  words,  has  departed  from 
all  his  former  declared  principles,  so  we  shall  see 
that  these  brave  words  of  this  English  Prime  Min- 
ister will  be  scattered  as  chaff  before  the  united 
and  advancing  determination  of  the  Irish  people 
to  regain  for  themselves  their  lost  land  and  their 
lost  legislative  independence. " 

A  few  days  afterwards,  on  October  13,  Mr. 
Parneli  was  himself  arrested  and  cast  into  Kil- 
mainham  jail,  but  whether  it  was  for  this  speech, 
or  for  having  promulgated  during  the  Tyrone  cam- 
paign the  famous  "prairie  rent"  doctrine  as  the 
logic  of  the  Healy  Clause,  or  for  insisting  on  the 
test  cases,  or  for  all  of  these  reasons,  that  he  was 
thus  honored,  will  never,  perhaps,  be  known. 
Then  as  a  retaliatory  measure  came  the  No-Kent 
manifesto,  in  which  the  tenants  were  advised  r'  to 
pay  no  rents  under  any  circumstances  to  their 
landlords  until  the  government  relinquishes  the 
existing  system  of  terrorism  and  restores  the 
constitutional  rights  of  the  people."  The  policy 
of  the  No-Rent  declaration  is  rarely  questioned 
now.  Even  at  that  time  Nationalists  were  by  no 
means  hearty  or  unanimous  in  support  of  it,  and 


190  C.    S.    PAftftELL,    Iff.    P. 

as  a  policy  it  was  foredoomed  to  defeat.  It  might 
<—  and  it  did  —  succeed  in  bringing  some  of  the 
landlords  to  a  condition  of  destitution,  but  it 
will  be  now  generally  admitted  that  it  could  not 
achieve  any  permanent  benefit  for  Ireland.  It 
might  starve  a  few  landlords,  but  it  could  not 
wrest  the  ownership  of  the  land  away  from  them, 
nor  could  it  vest  that  ownership  in  the  tenants. 
Even  if  such  sort  of  resistance  was  feasible, —  and 
if  a  movement  of  the  kind  ever  could  have  suc- 
ceeded no  time  was  surely  so  propitious  as  that  at 
which  the  manifesto  was  issued,  —  the  differences 
among  Nationalists  with  regard  to  its  advisability 
would  alone  be  Mai  to  its  success.  The  Catholic 
clergy  were  opposed  to  it  almost  to  a  man,  and 
Archbishop  Croke  wrote  an  open,  letter  to  the 
Dublin  Freeman  protesting  against  the  doctrine 
enunciated  in  it.  The  Nationalist  press,  too,  was 
divided  on  the  question,  and  many  journals,  nota- 
bly the  Freeman,  opposed  it.  The  settlements 
effected  in  the  land  courts,  too,  were  attracting 
people  to  them,  and  many  landlords  came  forward 
and  voluntarily  made  large  reductions  to  their 
tenants,  and  these  following  each  other  day  by 
day  had  the  effect  of  materially  weakening  the 
No-Rent  movement.  There  can  be  no  doubt, 
however,  but  what  the  advice  given  in  the  mani- 
festo was  very  generally  followed,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence many  landlords  were  reduced  to  a  condition 
bordering  on  poverty. 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  191 

The  question  now  was  whether  Mr.  Parnell  or 
the  Queen  was  to  be  the  paramount  power  in  Ire- 
land, and  the  government  took  up  the  issue  with 
a  vengeance.  The  Land  League  was  now  declared 
to  be  an  illegal  organization  ;  the  local  branches 
were  dissolved  by  proclamation  ;  the  leaders  of 
the  people  were  summarily  arrested,  and  cast  into 
prison  without  being  accorded  even  the  grace  of  a 
trial ;  the  Nationalist  press  was  muzzled ;  the 
boasted  privileges  of  the  British  constitution  were 
practically  cancelled,  so  far,  at  least,  as  Ireland  was 
concerned,  and  liberty  of  speech  or  meeting  ex- 
isted no  longer.  In  this  emergency  the  women  of 
Ireland  formed  the  Ladies'  Land  League  and  took 
the  place  of  the  men  in  looking  after  the  evicted 
and  the  families  of  those  who  were  in  prison. 
Mr.  ParneH's  sister,  Anna,  took  a  prominent  and 
active  part  in  this  movement  and  performed  many 
brave  deeds.  But  the  Government  soon  pro- 
claimed this  organization  also,  and  many  of  the 
ladies  were  arrested  and  thrown  into  jail. 

A  reign  of  terror,  absolute,  terrible,  existed  in 
Ireland,  and  no  man  if  free  to-day  could  be  sure 
that  he  would  not  be  in  jail  on  the  morrow.  The 
constabulary  used  their  ff  brief  authority  "  as  inex- 
orably as  any  soldiers  of  tyrants  ever  had,  and 
they  were  as  sanguinary,  too,  for  they  shot  men 
down  daily  if  they  but  dared  to  assemble  in 
groups,  or  did  not  instantly  betake  themselves 
from  the  streets  or  roads  when  ordered.     Even 


192  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P* 

the  helplessness  of  womanhood  or  the  innocence 
of  childhood  was  no  protection  from  the  ferocity 
of  these  warriors,  for  they  fired  upon  women  and 
children  with  as  little  compunction  as  upon  men. 
And  during  this  dreadful  period  a  vast  horde  of 
agents  and  bailiffs  and  military  were  constantly 
employed  in  the  work  of  evicting,  and  the  number 
of  ejectments,  which  in  1879  was  but  1348,  rose 
in  1880  to  10,457,  and  in  1881  to  upwards  of 
sixteen  thousand.  In  the  first  quarter  of  1882, 
there  were  more  than  seven  thousand  evictions, 
and  the  Dublin  Freeman  computed  that  the  num- 
ber would  reach  fifty  thousand  before  the  year 
expired. 

Many  of  these  evictions  took  place  under  cir- 
cumstances of  the  most  barbarous  inhumanity. 
Sick  men  and  sick  women  were  seized  upon  in  the 
very  height  of  their  maladies,  and  mercilessly 
flung  out  of  their  homes  on  to  the  roadway,  to 
starve  or  perish ;  and  more  than  one  instance  is 
on  record  of  cases  where  people  have  died  while 
the  bailiffs  were  in  the  very  act  of  ejecting  them. 
Even  the  London  Times  was  constrained  to  admit 
at  this  time  that  it  was  "an  irksome,  not  to  say  an 
odious,  task  to  enforce  wholesale  evictions  and  to 
compel  the  payment  of  rent  by  military  or  quasi- 
military  force,"  and  it  recognized  the  obligation 
"  not  less  stringent  on  the  landlord's  part  to  ab- 
stain from  oppressive  and  unreasonable  demands 
on  tenants  whose  inability  to  pay  in  full  is  clearly 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  193 

demonstrated.  It  cannot  be  reasonably  doubted," 
it  continued  to  say,  *  that  there  are  such  cases, 
and,  whether  they  be  few  or  many,  their  exist- 
ence, and  the  bitter  resentments  they  engender, 
are  the  festering  source  of  the  discontents  which 
make  Ireland  so  turbulent  and  irreconcilable." 

It  is  not  strange  that  amid  such  a  condition  of 
things  the  bullet  and  the  dagger  were  coming  into 
prominence.  The  voice  of  the  agitator  was  heard 
no  more  from  the  platform,  but  agrarian  crimes 
were  increasing  with  alarming  rapidity,  and  by  the 
spring  of  1882  the  Government  was  ready  to  admit 
that  coercion  was  not  progressing  very  fast  in 
restoring  peace  to  Ireland.  The  state  of  things 
in  that  country  had  never  been  so  bad ;  and, 
despairing  at  last  of  his  own  Remedies,  Mr, 
Gladstone  opened  up  communications  with  the 
imprisoned  leader  of  the  Irish  people.  The  Kil- 
mainham  Treaty  followed  his  advances,  and  on 
May  2  Mr.  Parnell  and  others  of  the  suspects 
were  once  more  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  liberty. 
This  treaty  was  a  notable  triumph  for  Mr.  Parnell, 
and  redounded  greatly  to  the  credit  of  his  diplo- 
matic abilities.  By  its  terms,  Earl  Cowper,  the 
Lord-Lieutenant,  and  W<  E.  Forster,  the  Chief 
Secretary,  were  to  be  recalled  forthwith ;  the 
coercion  policy  was  to  be  abandoned ;  an  arrears 
bill,  drafted  by  Mr.  Parnell  in  his  cell,  was  to  be 
adopted,  and  pledges  made  to  radically  amend  the 
Land  Act.     On  Mr.  Parnell's  part  it  is  not  clear 


194  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

that  any  consideration  was  given  other  than  the 
withdrawal  of  the  No-Kent  manifesto  and  the 
acceptation  of  his  own  freedom  and  that  of  his 
fellow-suspects. 

Leaders  and  people  were  alike  jubilant  at  this 
happy  termination  of  the  great  struggle ;  and  the 
bonfires  blazing  from  hundreds  of  hilltops  attested 
the  exultation  of  the  nation  at  the  great  victory. 
An  unarmed  people  had  successfully  resisted  and 
overcome  all  the  mighty  forces  of  the  Empire,  and 
now  the  minister  who  had  instigated  and  defended 
coercion  was  to  be  thrown  over  at  their  demand  ; 
the  lord-lieutenant  who  had  enforced  it  so  vi^or- 
ously  was  to  be  asked  to  resign ;  the  entire  policy 
of  repression  was  to  be  abandoned;  and  every 
amendment  to  the  Land  Act  which  the  League 
had  advocated  was  practically  conceded  in  prin- 
ciple. 

But  the  Phoenix  Park  assassinations  of  the  6th 
of  May,  1882,  destroyed  all  this  fair  prospect,  and 
crushed  back  again  the  rising  hopes  of  the  Irish 
nation.  Repression  became  the  order  of  the  day 
in  Ireland,  and  Mr.  Parnell  found  himself  once 
more  the  leader  of  a  desperate  and  unequal  fight 
against  a  new^  coercion  bill,  more  rigorously  severe 
than  any  that  had  preceded  it.  For  a  few  brief 
days  he  had  sailed  on  the  highest  crest  of  the 
wave ;  but  the  shocking  deed  of  Carey  and  his 
dupes  had  thrown  him  back,  with  his  party,  into 
the  deepest  trough  of  the  sea.     But  Mr.  Parnell 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  195 

is  not  the  man  to  let  misfortune  or  reverses  cool 
his  ardor  or  damp  his  courage,  and  the  fight  which 
he  made  against  the  Crimes  Bill  was  as  bold  as, 
and  even  more  skilful  than,  the  famous  battle 
of  the  previous  year;  but,  though  its  progress 
was  exceedingly  slow,  the  bill  passed  at  last, 
and  on  July  12  it  received  the  Royal  assent  and 
became  a  law. 

The  measures  carried  at  this  session  were  not, 
however,  all  coercive.  One,  at  any  rate,  was 
remedial,  the  Arrears  of  Rent  Act,  which  Mr. 
Parnell  had  induced  the  government  to  adopt. 
This  bill  was  introduced  on  May  15,  and  was 
really  a  very  important  concession  to  Ireland, 
liquidating  by  a  stroke  of  the  pen  millions  of 
pounds  of  the  tenants'  indebtedness.  Of  the  out- 
standing claims  of  Irish  landlords  Etgafast  their 
tenants,  —  computed  by  some  as  high  as  seventeen 
million  pounds,  and  never  placed  below  ten  mil- 
lion pounds,  —  this  bill  disallowed  all  but  four 
million  pounds,  and  of  this  latter  sum  the  Gov- 
ernment was  to  pay  one-half  from  the  Irish  Church 
Surplus  Fund. 

During  the  recess  of  Parliament  this  year,  Mr. 
Parnell  undertook  the  task  of  taking  up  once  more 
the  broken  threads  of  organization,  and  at  a  con- 
ference held  in  the  Ancient  Concert  Rooms,  in 
Dublin,  in  October,  1882,  the  Irish  National 
League  was  inaugurated.  The  conference  was 
one   of  the  largest  ever  held   in   Dublin,  and  its 


196  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M»    P. 

deliberations  were  marked  by  an  ardor  and  ear- 
nestness that  augured  well  for  the  success  of  the 
new  movement.  Mr.  Parnell  presided,  and  in  a 
temperate  and  statesmanlike  speech  reviewed  the 
work  of  the  Land  League,  and  explained  the  plan 
of  the  new  organization,  whose  constitution,  as 
proposed,  contained  five  leading  features,  viz., 
national  self-government,  land-law  reform,  local 
self-government,  the  extension  of  the  parliamen- 
tary and  municipal  franchises,  and  the  devel- 
opment and  encouragement  of  the  labor  and 
industrial  interests  of  Ireland.  Mr.  Parnell 
was  unanimously  chosen  president  of  the  new 
organization,  and  at  the  close  of  the  confer- 
ence he  be£>\an  the  work  of  onnmizinsr  with  such 

©  ©  © 

vigor  that  before  the  new  year  opened  branches 

of   the    League    were    flourishing    all    over   the 

©  © 

island. 

Shortly  before  the  assembling  of  Parliament  for 
the  session  of  1883  came  the  revelations  of  James 
Carey,  one  of  the  men  arrested  for  the  Phoenix 
Park  murder,  who  had  turned  informer.  By  his 
own  confession  this  man  was  a  very  monster  in 
crime.  He  admitted  that  he  was  a  leader  in  the 
Invincibles,  and  that  the  killing  of  Lord  Caven- 
dish and  Under-Secretary  Burke  was  done  under 
his  direction.  There  is  no  need  to  go  over  the 
details  of  the  trial  here.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
Carey's  evidence  was  accepted  by  the  jury  as  con- 
clusive, and  that  iive  of  the  men  whom  his  testi- 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  197 

mony  incriminated  suffered  the  extreme  penalty  of 
the  law,  while  the  others  were  given  long  terms 
of  imprisonment.  Carey  himself,  although  the 
greatest  criminal  of  all,  was  given  his  liberty,  in 
consideration  of  his  services  as  informer,  and  the 
Government  furnished  him  with  funds  with  which 
to  leave  the  country.  He  went  first  to  England, 
under  police  protection,  and  from  thence  he  took 
passage  for  South  Africa  under  an  assumed  name  ; 
but  the  doom  of  the  informer  sought  him  out, 
and  he  was  recognized  and  shot  down,  just  as  he 
reached  port,  by  a  fellow-passenger,  named  Patrick 
O'Donnell.  Such  was  the  miserable  end  of  the 
wretch  who  planned  and  directed  the  Phoenix  Park 
murders,  and  who  thought  to  save  his  own  life  by 
informing  on  his  unfortunate  associates  in  crime. 
O'Donnell  was  brought  back  to  England,  and  in 
the  course  of  a  few  months  he  was  tried,  con- 
victed, and  executed  for  his  act,  and  went  to  his 
end  fearlessly.  A  monument  has  since  been 
erected  in  Dublin  to  his  memory. 

The  evidence  given  by  Carey  at  the  Phoenix 
Park  trials  in  Dublin  was  made  the  most  unscru- 
pulous use  of  by  the  politicians  and  journalists  of 
England,  and  by  these  it  was  broadly  insinuated 
that  Mr.  Parnell  was  the  inspirer,  if  not  the  asso- 
ciate, of  the  assassins.  Ex-Chief  Secretary  Fors- 
ter  seized  upon  the  revelations  with  avidity,  and 
used  them  vindictively  in  the  effort  to  overthrow 
his  great  antagonist.     On  February  22,  1883,  he 


198  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

made  a  cruel,  deliberate,  and  wicked  speech  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  in  the  course  of  which  he 
charged  Mr.  Parnell  with  connivance  at  assassina- 
tion and  the  perpetration  of  outrages.  The  attack 
made  a  tremendous  sensation  at  the  time ;  but  its 
effect  was  entirely  counteracted  by  Mr.  ParnelFs 
reply  on  the  following  evening.  In  his  speech, 
the  Irish  leader  was  dignified  and  disdainful  to  a 
degree  that  delighted  his  countrymen  and  as- 
tounded his  enemies.  His  opening  was  character- 
istic :  "I  assure  the  House,  — and  though  it  is  not, 
perhaps,  a  very  respectful  assurance,  I  make  it 
with  the  greatest  respect, — I  assure  the  House 
that  I  do  not  expect  that  anything  I  can  say  will 
have  the  slightest  effect  upon  the  public  opinion  of 
England.  The  utmost  that  I  desire  to  do  is  to 
make  my  position  clear  to  the  Irish  people  at  home 
and  abroad." 

It  was  in  Irish  public  opinion  that  Mr.  Parnell 
was  solicitous  of  standing  well ;  as  to  what  Eng- 
lishmen might  think  of  him,  to  that  he  was  indif- 
ferent. And  the  Irish  people  were  not  backward 
in  showing  their  appreciation  of  his  attitude.  A 
few  days  before  the  Forster  incident,  the  Avoca 
branch  of  the  Irish  National  League  had  initiated 
a  subscription  in  Wicklow  to  save  from  the  ham- 
mer the  ancient  patrimony  of  the  Parnells,  and, 
quickened  by  a  sense  of  shame  that  their  leader 
should,  unrequited,  have  impoverished  himself  in 
their  cause,  the  people  of  Ireland  now  proposed  to 


C.    S.    TAHNELL,    M.    P.  199 

make  the  testimonial  a  national  one,  as  an  effective 
protest  against  the  attack  of  the  Irish  ex-secretary. 
A  letter  from  Archbishop  Croke  to  the  Freeman, 
accompanied  by  a  subscription  of  fifty  pounds, 
gave  a  start  to  the  movement,  and  contributions 
began  to  pour  in  from  all  parts  of  the  country, 
from  the  United  States,  and  from  Canada  and 
Australia.  In  the  course  of  a  few  months,  the 
nation's  tribute  assumed  the  magnificent  dimen- 
sions of  nearly  forty  thousand  pounds,  and  was 
then  presented  to  Mr.  Parnell  at  a  banquet  given 
in  his  honor  in  Dublin. 

The  parliamentary  achievements  of  Mr.  Parneli 
and  his  party  in  1883  were  not,  perhaps,  so  bril- 
liant as  those  of  former  years,  but  they  were  still 
substantial.  At  the  beginning  of  the  session,  the 
government  had  announced  that  it  was  to  be  de- 
voted to  the  consideration  of  English  and  Scotch 
measures,  and  that  no  Irish  reform  legislation  might 
be  expected ;  but  the  Irish  leader  was  determined 
not  to  allow  the  year  to  pass  without  gaining  some 
concessions  for  Ireland,  and,  as  a  result  of  his 
efforts,  the  Laborers'  Bill,  the  Fisheries  Bill,  and 
the  Migration  Bill  —  all  important  Irish  measures 
—  were  successfully  carried  through. 

In  Ireland  the  record  of  the  National  movement 
was  in  the  main  eminently  satisfactory.  During 
the  year,  a  splendid  testimonial  had  been  sub- 
scribed to  Mr.  Parnell ;  the  by-elections  in  Mal- 
low, Tipperary,  Westmeath,  Wexford  Borough, 


200  C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.    P. 

Wexford  County,  Monaghan,  Sligo,  and  Limerick 
had  been  an  unbroken  series  of  Nationalist  tri- 
umphs, and,  in  the  local  elections,  Nationalist 
mayors,  sheriffs,  aldermen,  councillors,  and  guar- 
dians had  been  elected  in  nearly  every  city  and 
town  in  Ireland.  Thus  the  movement  was 
everywhere  asserting  its  growing  power. 

But  all  was  not  sunshine  for  the  Nationalists, 
nevertheless.  Arrests  and  prosecutions  under  the 
Crimes  Act  were  again  being  made  by  wholesale ; 
and  some  of  the  most  prominent  men  in  the  coun- 
try were  among  the  victims.  The  Orangemen, 
too,  were  causing  much  trouble.  They  attacked 
peaceable  Nationalist  meetings  almost  daily,  and 
many  fatalities  resulted;  and  while  the  strong 
hand  of  the  law  was  promptly  invoked  to  disperse 
Nationalist  assemblies,  the  disorderly  proceedings 
of  Orange  bands  wTere  encouraged  and  connived 
at.  Mr.  Parnell  exposed  the  Government's  partial- 
ity time  and  again  in  Parliament ;  and  under  pres- 
sure of  his  vigorous  remonstrances  Earl  Spencer 
was  compelled  at  length  to  impose  a  certain  meas- 
ure of  restraint  upon  Orange  lawlessness,  but  his 
efforts  in  this  direction  only  went  far  enough  to 
estrange  the  Orange  leaders,  without  satisfying  the 
Nationalists. 

The  session  of  1884  was  notable  only  for  the 
passage  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  Franchise  Bill,  which 
increased  the  voting  power  of  the  United  Kingdom 
by  about  2,000,000,-1,300,000  being  for  Eng- 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  201 

land,  400,000  for  Ireland,  and  200,000  for  Scot- 
land. The  purpose  of  this  act  was  to  assimilate 
the  county  to  the  borough  franchise,  and  under  its 
provisions,  persons  rated  to  the  relief  of  the  poor, 
persons  occupying  land  or  tenements  of  the  clear 
annual  value  of  ten  pounds,  lodgers  who  paid  not 
less  than  ten  pounds  per  annum  for  rent,  and 
persons  occupying,  by  reason  of  any  service, 
premises  in  respect  of  which  an  owner  or  tenant 
would  be  entitled  to  vote,  provided  that  such 
owner  or  tenant  did  not  occupy  said  premises, 
were  entitled  to  he  registered  as  voters  in  counties 
and  boroughs.  The  hill  did  not,  however,  abolish 
the  old  property  qualifications  in  counties.  Per- 
sons possessed  of  freehold  property  of  the  value 
of  forty  shillings,  or  of  copyhold  or  leasehold 
property  of  the  clear  annual  value  of  live  pounds, 
were  still  entitled  to  be  registered  in  the  counties. 
With  these  few  exceptions  the  parliamentary  fran- 
chise may  be  described  as  household  suffrage. 

When  this  bill  was  first  introduced,  the  Orange- 
men and  the  Tories  fouirht  hard  against  admitting 
©  ©  © 

Ireland  to  its  benefits,  and  it  was  even  proposed 
by  many  Liberals  to  confine  its  provisions  to 
England  and  Scotland,  and  to  treat  with  Ireland 
later  in  a  separate  bill ;  but  Mr.  Parnell  promptly 
put  his  veto  upon  this  scheme.  He  knew  that  if 
once  the  English  and  Scotch  got  all  they  wanted, 
they  would  leave  the  Irish  to  shift  for  themselves ; 
so  he  gave  Mr.  Gladstone  to  understand  that  Ire- 


202  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

land  must  be  made  a  sharer  in  the  benefits  con- 
ferred by  his  measure,  and  in  the  same  bill,  or  he 
would  do  his  utmost  to  defeat  it.  And  he  could 
defeat  it,  too ;  for,  in  addition  to  the  votes  of  his 
own  party,  he  had  pledges  of  support  from  a 
large  number  of  Radicals.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, Mr.  Gladstone  had  no  alternative  but  to 
include  Ireland  in  his  bill,  and  he  did  so  accord- 
ingly. 

But  in  pushing  the  bill  through,  the  Govern- 
ment had  to  contend  against  the  strongest  opposi- 
tion from  the  illiberal  elements  in  the  Commons, 
and  when  it  was  passed  at  last,  the  House  of 
Lords  shelved  it  by  adopting  an  amendment,  post- 
poning action  on  the  subject  until  a  Redistribution 
of  Seats  Bill  could  be  introduced.  The  Govern- 
ment had,  however,  committed  itself  to  the  meas- 
ure, and  Mr.  Gladstone  now  made  use  of  all  the 
resources  at  his  command  to  force  the  upper 
chamber  into  acquiescence  with  the  views  of  the 
ministry.  During  the  recess  of  Parliament,  a 
fierce  agitation  was  begun  all  over  England  in 
favor  of  the  bill,  and  its  popularity  with  the 
masses  was  unmistakably  demonstrated.  The  re- 
sult was  that  when  the  bill  was  brought  forward 
again  at  the  autumn  session,  the  Lords  gave  way, 
and  on  December  6  the  measure  received  the 
Queen's  signature  and  became  a  law. 

In  Ireland,  the  Nationalists  signalized  the  year 
by  a  determined  onslaught  upon  the  iniquities  of 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 


203 


Dublin  Castle.  Mr.  William  O'Brien,  member  of 
Parliament  for  Mallow,  and  editor  of  United  Ire- 
land, the  League  organ,  had  become  aware  of  the 
bestial  practices  of  certain  officials  high  in  favor 
with  the  authorities,  and  he  set  on  foot  an  investi- 
gation, which  resulted  in  the  exposure  of  James 


WILLIAM   O'BKIEN. 


Ellis  French,  the  head  of  the  detective  depart- 
ment, and  Secretary  Cornwall,  of  the  Dublin 
Post-office.  Mr.  O'Brien's  charges  made  a  great 
sensation  at  the  time,  and  though  the  Government 
tried  to  discredit  them,  the  State  was  finally 
compelled,  in  self-defence,  to  bring  an  action  for 
felony  against  Cornwall,  French,  and  their  accom- 
plices,  in    the   course   of    which   Mr.    O'Brien's 


204  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

charges  were  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  every- 
body except  the  wretched  prisoners.  The  result 
of  these  trials  was  very  gratifying  to  the  Nation- 
alists, for  two  reasons  :  It  tended  greatly  to  weaken 
the  system  of  misgovernment  against  which  they 
were  contending,  and  it  caused  the  resignation  of 
Chief  Secretary  Trevelyan,  though  that  gentle- 
man's ostensible  reason  for  giving  up  his  position 
was  to  accept  of  a  sinecure. 

And  while  the  Government  was  struggling  to 
uphold  itself  in  Ireland,  the  arms  of  England 
were  tarnished  by  defeats  in  distant  lands.  Mr. 
Gladstone's  Government,  in  the  interest  of  the 
Khedive  of  Egypt,  had  undertaken  to  suppress 
the  revolt  of  El  Mahdi  in  the  Soudan,  but  the 
contract  proved  more  difficult  to  fulfil  than  had 
been  anticipated.  Instead  of  summarily  putting 
down  the  rebellion,  the  Anglo-Egyptian  army  in 
Central  Africa  itself  met  with  many  calamitous 
reverses,  and  the  dashing  Bedouins  of  the  False 
Prophet,  more  than  a  score  of  times,  fleshed  their 
spears  upon  a  retreating  foe.  These  defeats  caused 
great  consternation  in  England,  and  added  greatly 
to  the  troubles  of  the  Gladstone  ministry,  which 
was,  of  course,  held  to  be  responsible  for  the  dis- 
astrous course  of  events  in  the  land  of  the  Sphinx. 
When  it  became  known  that  Khartoum  had  fallen, 
and  that  General  Goixlon  and  his  companions  of 
the  garrison  were  all  massacred,  the  excitement 
arose  to  a  wild  pitch,  and  it  was  thought  that  the 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    t\  205 

ministers  would  have  to  succumb  before  the  storm. 
But  Mr,  Gladstone's  great  parliamentary  skill 
brought  them  safely  through.  On  February  27, 
1885,  Sir  Stafford  Northcote  proposed  a  vote  of 
censure  against  the  cabinet,  but  the  motion  was 
defeated,  although  it  received  the  united  support 
of  the  Tories  and  Parnellitcs.  The  vote  was  a 
very  close  one,  however,  and  the  ministers  were 
inclined  to  regard  it  as  equivalent  to  a  defeat, 
being  actually  divided  upon  the  question  of  con- 
tinuing in  office,  but  it  was  finally  decided  not  to 
resign. 

To  still  farther  add  to  the  burdens  of  the  min- 
istry, the  Government  now  became  involved  in  a 
controversy  with  Russia  over  the  Afghan  bound- 
ary question,  and  a  war  between  the  two  Empires 
was  only  averted  after  much  diplomatic  negotia- 
tion and  mutual  concessions  by  the  parties  to  the 
issue. 

In  April  of  this  year  the  Prince  and  Princess  of 
Wales,  with  their  eldest  son,  and  a  royal  train  of 
attendants,  made  a  tour  of  Ireland,  and  visited 
nearly  all  the  large  cities  and  towns.  The  Govern- 
ment remembered  the  saying  of  Swift,  that 
"loyalty  is  the  foible  of  the  Irish,"  and  it  was 
probably  hoped  that  the  presence  of  royalty  in 
the  country  would  have  a  salutary  effect  in  toning 
down  the  hostility  of,  or  in  winning  over,  the 
people  from  the  influence  of  Parnell.  But  if  such 
hopes  were  entertained,    they  were   certainly  not 


206  C.    S.    FAttNELL,    M.    P. 

realized.  In  Dublin  and  Belfast,  it  is  true,  the 
welcome  accorded  the  royal  party  was  somewhat 
extravagant,  but  in  these  cases  the  demonstrations 
were  gotten  up  under  the  direction  of  tjie  Castle, 
and  the  audiences  to  which  the  Prince  was  intro- 
duced were  carefully  selected  from  the  loyalist 
class.  Wherever  the  people  got  a  chance  to  give 
expression  to  their  feelings,  however,  his  recep- 
tion was  far  from  cordial,  and  in  Cork  and  Water- 
ford  especially  the  Prince  and  his  party  were 
roundly  hissed  as  they  made  their  way  through 
the  streets,  while  the  tones  of  the  national  anthem, 
"  God  save  Ireland,"  and  lusty  cheers  for  Parnell, 
ascending  from  thousands  of  throats,  fairly 
drowned  the  music  of  the  military  bands.  At 
Kilmacthemas,  in  Waterford,  the  board  of  guard- 
ians had  a  black  flag  flying  from  the  poorhouse,  as 
the  only  mark  of  greeting  to  the  Prince  upon  his 
arrival,  and  at  another  station  in  the  same  county 
a  flag  was  flying  which  bore  the  motto  "  We'll 
hae  na  Prince  but  Charlie. V  In  the  West  the 
reception  was  hardly  more  comforting,  and  even  in 
Ulster,  the  home  of  the  Orangemen,  the  welcome 
was  rather  a  cold  one.  The  attitude  of  the  public 
corporations,  too,  was  distinctly  uncordial,  many 
of  the  chief  representative  bodies  in  Ireland, 
including  those  of  Dublin,  Cork,  Limerick,  Drogh- 
eda,  Kilkenny,  Waterford,  and  Wexford,  delib- 
erately refusing  to  extend  addresses  of  welcome. 
On  the  whole,  the  result  of  the  two  weeks'  visit 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P-  207 

was  not  such  as  to  justify  gratification  either  in  the 
Prince  or  in  the  Government. 

Circumstances  were  all  now  working  favorably 
for  Mr.  tParnell's  plans.  The  Crimes  Act  was 
about  to  expire  by  limitation,  and  the  cabinet  was 
seriously  divided  on  the  question  of  its  renewal. 
Mr.  Gladstone  and  a  section  of  his  cabinet  were 
said  to  be  in  favor  of  letting  the  act  drop,  and 
depending  upon  the  ordinary  laws  for  the  preser- 
vation of  order  in  Ireland,  but  another  and  a 
stronger  section  of  the  cabinet  strenuously  insisted 
on  the  re-enactment  of  the  measure,  and  these 
threatened  to  resign  if  their  wishes  were  not 
respected.  To  add  to  the  perplexities  of  the  situ- 
ation, Mr.  Pamel]  wa>  working  very  hard  to  or- 
ganize an  effective  opposition  to  the  measure, 
should  it  be  brought  forward,  and  it  was  said  that 
he  had  as  many  as  thirty  Tories  and  fifty  Radicals 
pledged  to  aid  him  in  defeating  it.  It  began  to 
look  as  though  the  cabinet  would  go  to  pieces  on 
the  Crimes  Act  anyway,  but  Mr.  Gladstone  finally 
patched  up  a  truce  between  the  members  by 
agreeing  to  re-enact  the  Crimes  Bill  in  a  modified 
form,  and  at  the  same  time  introduce  :i  local  self- 
government  !>ill  Tor  Ireland* 

But  if  this  compromise  was  successful  in  unit- 
ing the  members  of  the  cabinet,  it  by  no  means 
satisfied  Mr.  Parnell.  He  was  opposed  to  the 
Crimes  Bill,  no  matter  in  what  form  it  might  be 
presented,  and  the  sugar-coating  of  a  local  gov- 


208  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

ernment  bill  did  not  hide  its  unpalatableness.  He 
was  determined  to  prevent  the  re-enactment  of  the 
bill,. or,  if  possible,  to  overthrow  the  Government 
before  it  had  a  chance  to  introduce  the  measure, 
and  an  opportunity  to  do  this  latter  offered  in  the 
Government's  Budget  Bill.  By  this  bill  Mr.  Glad- 
stone proposed  to  increase  the  tax  on  beer  and 
spirits,  in  order  to  make  up  the  deficit  caused  by 
the  Soudan  campaign  and  the  preparations  for  war 
with  Russia,  and  the  proposition  was  received  with 
marked  signs  of  popular  disapproval.  Great  de- 
monstrations were  held  in  London  and  other 
places  to  protest  against  the  tax,  and  a  powerful 
party  was  organized  in  Parliament  to  oppose  it. 
Sir  Michael  Hicks-Beach  had  proposed  an  amend- 
ment to  the  motion  for  a  second  reading  of  the 
Budget,  censuring  the  ministry,  and  Mr.  Parnell 
was  quick  to  foresee  that  this  amendment  was  des- 
tined to  be  the  death-blow  of  the  Government. 
He  sent  out  urgent  whips  to  the  absent  members 
of  his  party  requesting  them  to  be  present  for 
the  division,  at  all  hazards,  and  when  the  vote 
was  taken,  on  June  8, — the  very  day  that  the 
cabinet  finally  agreed  to  re-enact  the  Crimes 
Act,  —  the  Government  was  beaten  by  a  vote  of 
two  hundred  and  sixty-four  to  two  hundred 
and  fifty-two,  thirty-nine  Irish  members  voting 
with  the  majority.  On  the  next  day  Mr. 
Gladstone  announced  that  the  ministers  had 
decided    to    resign,    and    requested    an    adjourn- 


C.    S.    TARNELL,    M.    ?.  209 

ment  in  order  that  the  Queen  might  be  commu- 
nicated with. 

Thus  fell  the  strongest  ministry  of  the  century, 
and  Mr.  Parnell  had  cause  for  elation  in  the 
knowledge  that  with  it  fell  coercion  for  Ireland 
forever.  The  defeat  was  due  to  his  action,  and 
that  of  his  party,  in  refusing  to  uphold  a  ministry 
from  which  they  had  received  nothing  but  broken 
promises,  and  from  which  Ireland  could  expect 
nothing  but  injustice,  as  was  foreshadowed  in 
the  proposed  attempt  to  again  saddle  upon  her 
the  iniquitous  provisions  of  the  Crimes  Act.  The 
pleasure  and  advantage  of  the  defeat  to  the  Par- 
nellites  was  increased  by  the  fact  that  by  it 
almost  the  only  remaining  Irish  industry  was 
saved  from  a  burden  of  five  hundred  thousand 
pounds  a  year. 

But  the  action  of  the  party  was  not  dictated  by 
motives  of  the  moment,  but  was  inspired  by  a 
policy  which  the  Parnellites  had  followed  for 
years,  that  of  turning  out  the  Government  at  any 
cost,  as  a  lesson  for  all  future  governments  with 
regard  to  the  determination  of  the  Irish  people 
not  to  submit  to  unconstitutional  government. 
They  had  for  years  followed  out  this  policy  in  the 
most  determined  fashion,  had  pushed  the  ministers 
closely  upon  many  previous  divisions,  and  had 
beaten  them  more  than  once,  though,  unhappily, 
not  on  occasions  when  they  were  obliged  to  re- 


210  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

The  Tories,  at  the  desire  of  the  Queen,  now 
formed  a  government,  of  which  Lord  Salisbury 
was  the  head  and  Lord  Churchill  the  dominant 
spirit,  and  the  new  government,  under  the  advice 
of  Churchill,  determined  to  let  the  Crimes  Act 
lapse.  The  forty  votes  which  Mr.  Parnell  con- 
trolled were  indispensable  to  the  Tory  govern- 
ment, and  a  strong  effort  was  made  to  conciliate 
him.  Earl  Spencer  was  recalled  from  Ireland  and 
was  succeeded  as  Lord-Lieutenant  by  the  Earl  of 
Carnarvon,  and  Mr.  Campbell-Bannerman  was  re- 
placed as  Chief  Secretary  by  Sir  William  Hart 
Dyke,  who  announced  a  determination  to  rule  Ire- 
land without  oppressing  the  people.  But  the 
most  unequivocal  evidence  of  Mr.  ParnelPs  power 
under  the  new  order  of  things  was  given  in  the 
Government's  promise  to  make  an  inquiry  into  the 
circumstances  of  the  celebrated  Maamtrasna  mur- 
der case,  and  to  redress,  as  far  as  possible,  any 
injustice  that  might  be  brought  to  light.  The 
Irish  members  had  often  tried  before  to  obtain  an 
investigation  of  this  case,  being  convinced  that 
some  of  the  men  convicted  by  the  aid  of  packed 
juries  and  suborned  witnesses  had  suffered  un- 
justly, but  their  efforts  had  been  invariably  unsuc- 
cessful. In  this  instance,  their  success  was  the 
more  noteworthy  because  it  was  considered  to  be 
contrary  to  all  precedent  to  allow  the  acts  of  a 
former  government  to  be  inquired  into,  and  the 
concession   went  to  show  that  Lord  Salisbury's 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  211 

government  considered  the  support  of  Mr.  Par- 
nell  as  necessary  in  order  to  maintain  itself  in 
power.  The  existence  of  this  feeling  of  depend- 
ence and  spirit  of  conciliation  in  the  mind  of  the 
Government,  was  further  shown  in  the  introduction 
and  passage  of  the  Land  Purchase  Bill.  With  the 
passage  of  this  measure,  the  Parliament  of  1885 
practically  closed,  it  being  prorogued  on  August 
14,  the  Queen,  in  her  speech,  giving  notice  of  her 
purpose  before  long  to  seek  the  counsel  of  her 
people  by  a  dissolution. 

The  principal  measures  affecting  Ireland  in  the 
legislation  of  this  year  were  the  Redistribution  of 
Seats  Bill,  the  amendment  of  the  Irish  Registra- 
tion laws,  and  the  Land  Purchase  Bill.  The  first 
and  second  of  these  bills  were  brought  forward 
and  passed  by  the  Gladstone  government,  while 
the  Land  Purchase  Bill  was  a  Tory  measure.  The 
Redistribution  Bill  reapportioned  the  Parliamen- 
tary representation  in  the  United  Kingdom  as 
nearly  as  possible  on  the  basis  of  one  member  of 
Parliament  for  every  fifty-four  thousand  two  hun- 
dred persons.  The  net  results  of  the  measure 
are  thus  summarized :  ninety-six  English,  two 
Scotch,  and  twenty  Irish  constituencies  were  abol- 
ished ;  thirty-eight  English  boroughs  that  had  two 
members  each  were  only  to  have  one  in  future, 
and  three  Irish  boroughs  suffered  a  like  loss.  On 
the  other  hand,  twenty-four  English  counties, 
whose  representatives  numbered  one  hundred  and 


212  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

eleven,  would  in  future  have  one  hundred  and 
seventy-nine,  and  four  Scotch  counties,  repre- 
sented by  five  members,  were  given  twelve  ;  ten 
Irish  counties,  which  had  only  twenty  members, 
were,  by  the  new  apportionment,  given  forty- 
two  ;  fifteen  English  boroughs,  of  thirty-three 
members,  were  given  sixty-six,  and  two  Irish 
boroughs,  of  four  members, —  Dublin  and  Belfast, 
—  were  given  eight. 

The  amendment  to  the  Irish  Registration  law 
was  made  at  the  instance  of  Mr.  Parnell,  who 
pressed  it  earnestly  upon  the  Government  until  it 
was  finally  adopted.  By  this  amendment  the 
Irish  law  was  assimilated  in  all  beneficial  respects 
to  that  of  England,  and  it  was  even  better  than 
the  English  law  in  that  it  did  not  disqualify  per- 
sons who  had  received  medical  relief. 

The  Land  Purchase  Bill  was  an  attempt  at  fur- 
ther legislation  in  the  direction  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Land  Act  of  1881,  and  was  designed  to  promote 
the  establishment  of  a  peasant  proprietary  class 
in  Ireland,  the  Government  offering  under  it  to 
advance  three-fourths,  or  even  the  whole,  of  the 
purchase  money,  to  intending  purchasers  of  small 
holdings,  at  four  per  cent  interest  for  forty-nine 
years,  the  money  for  the  purpose  to  be  taken  from 
the  Irish  Church  Surplus  Fund.  The  bill  also  pro- 
vided a  cheap  and  simple  form  for  the  conveyance 
of  land,  and  it  was  to  be  administered  by  the 
existing  land  commission,  re-enforced  by  two 
Commissioners. 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  213 

Immediately  upon  the  prorogation  of  Parlia- 
ment, Mr.  Parnell  began  the  work  of  preparing 
for  the  general  elections,  and  prosecuted  it  with 
great  vigor.  He  had  no  doubts  of  the  patriotism 
or  the  strength  of  the  people  in  the  impending 
contest,  but  he  was  solicitous  that  only  such  men 
should  be  put  up  for  election  as  would  be  loyal 
to  the  principles  of  the  National  party  and  the 
National  cause  through  thick  and  thin.  The  ques- 
tion with  him  then  was  how  to  prevent  traitors  in 
the  ranks,  and  to  consider  this  he  called  a  meeting 
of  his  followers  in  Dublin  on  August  25,  at  which 
it  was  resolved  to  advise  all  Nationalist  constituen- 
cies to  select  no  candidate  without  first  consulting 
with  Mr.  Parnell,  and  to  vote  for  none  who  would 
not  subscribe  to  the  following  pledge  :  — 

I  pledge  myself  that,  in  the  event  of  my  election 
to  Parliament,  I  will  sit,  act,  and  vote  with  the  Irish 
parliamentary  party;  and  if  at  a  meeting  of  the  party, 
convened  upon  due  notice  specially  to  consider  the 
question,  it  be  determined  by  a  resolution,  supported 
by  a  majority  of  the  entire  parliamentary  party,  that  I 
have  not  fulfilled  the  above  pledge,  1  hereby  under- 
take forthwith  to  resign  my  seat. 

At  this  meeting,  too,  it  was  laid  down  as  a  prin- 
ciple by  Mr.  Parnell,  and  unanimously  assented  to 
by  his  colleagues,  that  the  Irish  party  should,  in 
future,  have  a  programme  with  only  one  plank  in 
it,    and   that   that    one    should    be    the    national 


214  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

independence  of  Ireland.  Addressing  a  public 
meeting  in  Dublin  on  the  same  day,  Mr.  Parnell 
asserted  that  the  triumph  of  the  Irish  cause  was 
assured  whether  the  Liberals  or  the  Tories  won 
in  the  elections.  w  If  we  use  judgment  and  mod- 
eration," he  asserted,  n  we  shall  see  the  English 
parties  competing  to  settle  the  Irish  question,  and 
there  is  something  solemn  and  dazzling  in  the 
thought  that  we  belong  to  a  generation  about  to 
witness  the  finish  of  a  struggle  of  seven  hundred 
years  opposed  by  such  tremendous  obstacles  and 
odds.  Only  the  Irish  can  defeat  themselves.  The 
English  Parliament  cannot  defeat  us.  We  have 
met  and  beaten  the  worst  that  England  can  do." 

In  thus  boldly  coming  out  for  Home  Rule  pure 
and  simple,  the  Irish  leader  called  down  upon  his 
head  the  most  bitter  and  denunciatory  criticisms 
from  the  anti-Nationalist  press  of  Ireland  and 
England.  Until  then  English  politicians  had  been 
buried  in  contemplation  of  the  great  problem  of 
how  the  cat  would  jump.  The  leaders  had  main- 
tained an  unbroken  silence  on  the  future  conduct 
of  affairs  in  Ireland,  and  now  into  this  void  the 
clear  notes  of  Mr.  Parnell  penetrated  with  exult- 
ant tone  and  shocked  them  into  an  awakening  as 
from  a  lethargic  sleep.  The  great  English  news- 
papers all  discussed  the  speech  and  the  resolutions 
in  lengthy  editorials,  and  all  were  emphatic  in 
agreeing  that  Home  Rule  for  Ireland  was  ndt  to 
be  thought  of.      The   Times  held  that  Mr.  Par- 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  215 

nell's  declaration  amounted  to  separation  from 
England,  and  such  a  proposition,  it  asserted, 
would  never  be  assented  to.  The  principals 
among  the  politicians,  or  those  of  them  who  gave 
expression  to  their  opinions,  seemed  to  hold  the 
same  views,  and  Lord  Hartington,  in  opening  the 
campaign  for  the  Liberals  at  Rosendale,  declared 
that  w  the  demand  for  national  independence  for 
Ireland  could  only  be  answered  by  the  word  '  im- 
possible.' "  To  these  vaporings  Mr.  Parnell's 
reply  was  prompt,  and  scornfully  defiant  in  tone. 

In  a  speech  made  at  the  Mansion  House  in 
Dublin  on  Sept.  1,  he  told  his  English  critics 
bluntly  that  w  If  it  be  sought  to  make  it  impossible 
for  one  country  to  obtain  the  right  of  administering 
its  own  affairs,  we  will  make  all  other  things  im- 
possible for  those  who  said  so." 

The  general  elections  were  to  be  held  in  Novem- 
ber ;  and  it  behooved  the  Nationalists  to  set  about 
the  selection  of  candidates  at  once,  and  they  lost  no 
time  in  doing  so.  Mr.  Parnell  had  a  plan  for  the 
payment  of  the  Nationalist  members  from  a  fund  to 
be  subscribed  for  the  purpose  by  the  Irish  people 
all  over  the  world,  and  that  the  scheme  would  be 
successful  was  even  at  this  time  assured  by  the 
contributions  from  America  alone.  Under  this 
prospect  there  was  no  scarcity  of  candidates  and  the 
difficulty  which  presented  itself  was  the  selection 
of  the  most  suitable  men.  Most  of  the  constituen- 
cies had  their  local  favorites  to  put  forward,  and 


216  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

supported  their  claims  to  the  nominations  with  such 
warmth  that  it  was  feared  that  the  plans  of  the 
Irish  leader  wrould  miscarry.  This  was  the  crucial 
period  in  the  movement,  and  that  it  passed  through 
it  safely  is  the  best  test  of  its  coherence  and 
strength.  Mr.  Parnell  rose  triumphantly  superior 
to  every  obstacle.  The  local  conventions  nomi- 
nated the  candidates  of  his  choice  in  every  instance, 
and  before  the  dissolution  was  announced  the  men 
who  were  to  bear  the  colors  in  the  contest  were 
all  selected  and  the  people  were  ready  and  eager 
for  the  fray. 

In  bringing  about  this  happy  result,  Mr.  Parnell 
was  greatly  aided  by  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Walsh,  who 
had  a  short  time  before  succeeded  to  the  Arch- 
bishopric of  Dublin,  in  the  face  of  the  most  des- 
perate anti-Nationalist  opposition  ;  by  Most  Rev. 
Dr.  Croke,  the  patriotic  Archbishop  of  Cashel,  and 
by  the  bishops  and  priests  of  Ireland  generally, 
whose  influence  in  promoting  harmony,  especially 
in  the  conventions,  it  is  impossible  to  over- 
estimate. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  follow  the  elections,  or  to 
describe  the  scenes  attending  them,  in  detail  here. 
I  will,  therefore,  only  advert  briefly  to  results. 
On  Nov.  18,  the  Parliament  was  dissolved  by 
proclamation,  and  almost  immediately  writs  began 
to  issue  for  elections  to  a  new  Parliament.  In 
England  and  Scotland  the  Liberals  had  a  decided 
advantage  in,  and  they  based  sanguine  hopes  upon, 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  217 

the  fact  that  the  million  and  a  half  new  voters  were 
indebted  to  the  Liberal  party  for  the  blessings  of 
the  franchise.  It  was  confidently  believed  that 
the  great  majority  of  these  new  voters  would 
support  the  Liberal  candidates  at  the  polls,  and 
if  they  did  so  and  Mr.  Gladstone  held  anything 
like  his   former  strength  among   the   old  voters, 

CO  7 

the  Liberal  party  would  have  a  majority  over 
the  Tories  and  the  Parnellites  combined.  But 
these  hopes,  although  reasonable,  and,  indeed,  well 
founded,  were  never  realized.  By  an  adroit  flank 
movement,  Mr.  Parnell  effectually  counteracted 
any  Liberal  tendency  on  the  part  of  the  new 
voters  by  directing  the  Nationalists  of  Great 
Britain  —  a  splendidly  organized  body  —  to  vote 
solidly  for  the  Tory  candidates  in  all  the  con- 
stituencies, and  as  a  result  of  this  advice  the 
Liberals  lost  and  the  Tories  gained  at  least  thirty 
seats,  making  it  possible  for  the  Irish  members  to 
wield  the  balance  of  power. 

In  Ireland  the  elections  were  a  very  one-sided 
affair,  the  Nationalists  being  victorious  in  nearly 
every  contest  into  which  they  entered,  and  polling 
fully  five-sixths  of  the  total  vote  of  the  country. 
In  many  places  their  majorities  comprised  literally 
the  whole  voting  list.  Out  of  the  103  seats 
in  Ireland  the  Nationalists  won  85,  and  T.  P. 
O'Connor  was  returned  from  Liverpool,  Eng.,  as 
a  Nationalist,  so  that  the  full  strength  of  the  party 
would  be  86.     The  Tories  only  won  18  seats  in 


218  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

all  Ireland,  and  the  Liberals  did  not  even  return  a 
man. 

In  short  the  elections  made  Mr.  Parnell  the 
master  of  the  situation.  They  placed  him  in  the 
position  of  a  supreme  arbiter  between  the  two 
great  English  parties,  and  enabled  him  to  turn  the 
balance  of  factions  and  decide  the  fate  of  ministries 


JUSTIN    M'CAKTHY. 

at  his  pleasure.  The  entire  English  body  politic 
was  in  a  complete  quandary,  and  .neither  the 
Liberals  nor  the  Tories  could  see  any  way  out  of 
it  except  that  which  the  Irish  leader  pointed  out, 
— to  give  Ireland  Home  Rule,  —  but  that  they 
were  not  yet  prepared  to  make  use  of.  The 
leaders  of  both  the  great  English  parties  were  at 
their  wits'  ends.     The  leader  of  the  Irish  people 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  219 

was  at  his  ease  and  confident.  The  English  news- 
papers, while  bemoaning  the  fact,  conceded  his 
great  and  dominating  power. 

The  London  Times  said :  "  We  make  no  doubt 
that  the  whole  Irish  question  is  engaging  the  anx- 
ious attention  of  the  leaders  of  both  parties.  Mr. 
Parnell  must  perceive,  however,  that  there  are 
still  a  good  many  formidable  obstacles  to  the  satis- 
faction of  his  extreme  demands.  In  the  first 
place,  there  is  the  uncertainty  of  his  own  position, 
which  is  by  no  means  so  strong  as  it  looks.  In 
the  next  place,  there  is  the  patriotism  of  Mr. 
Gladstone  and  the  steadfastness  of  the  Liberal 
party.  And  in  the  last  resort,  there  are  the  con- 
stituencies of  Great  Britain,  which  love  their 
country  more  than  party,  which  vote  freely  and 
independently,  and  which  do  not  yield  to  the  dic- 
tation of  conventions  and  priests." 

The  Standard  argued  that  "  if  to  acquiesce  in 
Mr.  Pamell's  proposals  would  be  suicide,  to  aim 
at  a  compromise  would  be  folly.  There  is  no 
middle  way  to  choose  between  that  of  those  who 
wish  to  maintain  the  Union  and  those  who  are 
intent  on  destroying  it.  The  last  generation  of 
statesmen  were  not  afraid  to  grapple  with  O'Connell 
and  the  repeal  movement.  It  will  be  a  lasting 
disgrace  if  the  present  generation  are  unequal  to 
the  task  of  facing  Parnell." 

The  Daily  Telegraph  said:  "We  are  face  to 
face  with  this  difficulty,  that  to  give  to  Ireland 


220  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

complete  right  of  legislation  and  police  is  to  aban- 
don to  the  peasantry  one  million  and  a  half  of 
Irishmen  who  are  not  Parnellites ;  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  nothing  but  the  uncontrolled  right  to 
make  and  execute  the  laws  will  satisfy  Irish  aspira- 
tions, or  conciliate  Parnell.  The  situation  is  very 
serious.  It  is  one  of  the  gravest  ever  presented 
to  an  English  Parliament.  It  is  more  momentous 
than  many  wars,  because  it  is  a  Gordian  knot  that 
cannot  be  cut  by  the  sword.  The  competition  of 
the  two  great  parties  for  power  has  brought  the 
Empire  to  this  dilemma,  and  their  union  alone  can 
save  it  from  disintegration." 

The  Daily  JVews  concluded  a  long  editorial  as 
follows  :  "  Mr.  Parnell  is  a  maker  and  unmaker  of 
ministries.  Our  parliamentary  system  is  at  stake. 
It  is  overborne  by  what  is  practically  a  foreign 
dictation.  Eighty-five  members  of  Parliament 
control  more  than  the  remaining  five  hundred  and 
eighty.  Parnell  is  an  arbiter  between  Gladstone 
and  Salisbury.  Gladstone's  excess  over  the  Con- 
servative vote  nearly  equals  the  whole  number  of 
ParnelPs  supporters  in  the  House  of  Commons. 
Mr.  Gladstone  is  as  much  the  representative  of 
Great  Britain  as  Mr.  Parnell  is  of  Ireland,  and  it 
is  he  who  is  entitled  to  speak  in  the  name  of  Par- 
liament and  the  country." 

It  was  now  everywhere  conceded  that  the  Irish 
question  would  have  to  be  taken  up  and  settled  by 
the  new  Parliament  before  anything  else  could  be 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    St.    F.  221 

done.  On  this  Mr.  Parnell  was  determined. 
M  We  shall  demand,"  he  said,  a  short  time  before 
Parliament  opened,  w  and  we  will  be  satisfied  with 
nothing  less  than  the  erection  of  an  Irish  Parlia- 
ment fully  empowered  to  legislate  for  all  of  Ire- 
land's affairs  and  interests."     And  that  it  was  the 


T.   M.    HEALY. 


original  intention  of  Lord  Salisbury's  government 
to  bring  in  a  measure  of  Home  Rule,  substantially 
in  accord  with  Mr.  ParnelPs  wishes,  there  can  be 
no  doubt.  Communications  discussing  the  provis- 
ions of  such  a  bill  had  actually  passed  between 
members  of  the  ministry  and  the  Irish  leader. 
But  the  Tory  government  was  driven  to  abandon 
this  purpose  by  the  conviction  that  they  could  not 


222  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

succeed  in  carrying  the  measure  against  the  Liberal 
opposition  and  the  hostility  of  the  Irish  Tories, 
who  threatened  to  join  the  opposition  in  the  event 
of  such  a  bill  being  introduced.  Deterred  thus 
from  offering  concessions,  the  Government  decided 
to  resort  to  coercion ;  and,  having  once  come  to 
this  decision,  they  did  not  leave  the  country  long 
in  suspense.  When  Parliament  opened,  early  in 
January,  1886,  the  Queen  in  her  speech  made  the 
following  reference  to  Ireland  :  — 

I  have  seen  with  deep  sorrow  the  renewal,  since  I 
last  addressed  you,  of  the  attempt  to  excite  the  people 
of  Ireland  to  hostility  against  the  legislative  union 
between  that  country  and  Great  Britain.  1  am  reso- 
lutely opposed  to  any  disturbance  of  that  fundamen- 
tal law,  and  in  resisting  it  I  am  convinced  that  I 
shall  be  heartily  supported  by  my  Parliament  and  my 
people. 

The  social,  no  less  than  the  material,  condition  of 
that  country  engages  my  anxious  attention.  Although 
there  has  been  during  the  last  year  no  marked  increase 
of  serious  crime,  there  is  in  many  places  a  concerted 
resistance  to  the  enforcement  of  legal  obligations,  and 
I  regret  that  the  practice  of  organized  intimidation 
continues  to  exist.  I  have  caused  every  exertion  to  be 
used  for  the  detection  and  punishment  of  these  crimes, 
and  no  effort  will  be  spared  on  the  part  of  my  Govern- 
ment to  protect  my  Irish  subjects  in  the  exercise  of 
their  legal  rights  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  individual 
liberty.  If,  as  my  information  leads  me  to  apprehend, 
the  existing  provisions  of  the  law  should  prove  to  be 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  223 

inadequate  to  cope  with  these  growing  evils,  I  shall 
look  with  confidence  to  your  willingness  to  invest  my 
Government  with  all  the  necessary  powers. 

The  Queen  was  present  in  person  during  the 
reading  of  her  speech,  at  the  conclusion  of  which 
she  withdrew,  and  K  her  faithful  Lords  and  Com- 
mons began  to  talk  it  over."  In  the  House  of 
Lords,  the  Duke  of  Abercom,  an  Irish  landlord, 
alluded  to  the  grave  responsibilities  of  those  who 
directed  the  affairs  of  the  government,  and  said 
that  the  one  cloud  over  the  Empire  was  the  state 
of  Ireland.  Among  the  duties  which  the  Govern- 
ment must  perform,  he  said,  were  the  maintenance 
of  the  Union,  the  suppression  of  persecutions  of 
which  the  National  League  had  been  guilty,  and 
the  defence  of  the  loyal  Irish  minority. 

In  the  House  of  Commons,  Mr.  Gladstone's 
speech  on  the  Address  gave  great  encouragement 
to  the  Irish  party.  He  had  previously  made 
overtures  to  Mr.  Parnell  on  the  subject  of  Home 
Rule,  and  on  this  occasion  he  showed  that  he  had 
fully  made  up  his  mind  to  secure  the  support  of 
the  Parnellites,  and  to  pay  the  price.  He  said  he 
wished  the  Queen's  speech  had  been  more  ex- 
plicit. He  was  convinced  that  only  a  gentle  and 
conciliatory  handling  of  the  Irish  question  would 
be  effectual.  He  had  always  striven  to  eliminate 
the  elements  of  wrath  and  passion  in  discussing 
Ireland.    w  The  exercise  of  candor  and  justice  could 


224  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

alone  afford  the  smallest  hope  of  solving  the  diffi- 
culty. Whatever  it  may  be  necessary  to  do  for 
Ireland  should  be  done  promptly.  In  the  name  of 
Heaven,  let  us  maintain  the  Union.  We  have 
been  maintaining  it  for  eighty-five — yes,  six 
hundred    years.      Let   us  not   deviate   from   the 


THE  O'GORMAN  MAHON. 

path  of  good  temper  and  self-command ;  but,  for- 
getful of  every  prejudice,  let  us  strive  to  do  jus- 
tice to  the  great,  the  gigantic  interests  committed 
to  our  charge."  Mr.  Gladstone  continued  that  in 
seeking  a  re-election  he  was  mainly  guided  by  a 
wish  to  proceed  with  proposals  in  regard  to  both 
the  legislative  and  the  social  position  of  Ireland. 
Only  the  Government,  however,  was  able  to  act  in 


C,    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  225 

such  a  matter.  He,  believing  it  would  be  mis- 
chievous to  do  so,  did  not  intend  to  introduce 
proposals  of  his  own,  but  he  would  reserve  his 
opinion.  He  would  also  reserve  his  decision 
whether  to  alter  or  to  add  to  the  proposals  embod- 
ied in  his  election  manifesto.  He  pleaded  for  a 
patient  hearing  of  the  opinions  of  the  Irish  Nation- 
alists. # 

Mr.  Parnell  followed  Mr.  Gladstone  in  a  speech 
that  was  everywhere  praised  for  its  firmness  and 
its  moderation  ;  and  when  he  had  concluded,  Lord 
Randolph  Churchill  burned  the  bridges  behind  the 
Government,  by  announcing  that  he  M  wished  the 
House  to  clearly  understand  that  it  would  be  im- 
possible for  the  present  Government  ever  to  sanc- 
tion an  Irish  Parliament." 

This  speech  of  Lord  Churchill  and  that  of  the 
Queen  destroyed  all  hopes  of  getting  an  Irish 
Home  Rule  Bill  from  the  Tory  government,  but 
they  also  sealed  the  fate  of  the  Salisbury  ministry, 
for  they  threw  the  hopes  of  the  Irish  back  upon 
Gladstone,  and  the  Gladstonites  and  Parncllites 
had  it  in  their  power  to  defeat  the  Government  at 
any  time.  The  Tory  leaders  now  "rode  for  a 
fall."  They  invited  defeat  upon  a  question  which 
would  allow  them  to  appeal  to  the  people  on  w  the 
integrity  of  the  Empire"  cry.  But  they  were 
playing  against  masters  of  all  the  parliamentary 
arts,  in  Gladstone  and  Parnell,  and  the  sequel 
proved  them   vastly  overmatched.     On   January 


226  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

26,  Sir  Michael  Hicks-Beach,  the  Tory  leader  in 
the  House,  gave  notice  that  the  Government  would, 
on  the  28th,  introduce  "a  bill  to  suppress  the 
Irish  National  League  and  other  dangerous  socie- 
ties, to  prevent  intimidation,  to  protect  life  and 
property,  and  to  maintain  public  order  in  Ireland." 
He  said  he  would  ask  the  House  to  give  the  bill 
precedence,  and  added  that  this  measure  would  be 
followed  by  a  bill  dealing  with  the  Irish  land 
question,  on  the  lines  indicated  in  the  Land  Pur- 
chase Act  of  the  last  session.  The  Government 
expected  that  the  Parnellites  would  make  a  strong 
fight  against  this  bill,  and  that  they  would  be  aided 
by  the  Liberals,  and  the  ministry  was  prepared  to 
welcome  defeat  upon  it.  But  Mr.  Parnell  was 
too  able  a  tactician  to  walk  into  the  snare.  He 
hurled  the  Government  from  power,  however,  that 
very  night,  and  it  was  not  on  an  Irish  question, 
either.  Mr.  Jesse  Collings  had  moved  an  amend- 
ment to  the  address  which  expressed  regret  that 
no  measures  were  announced  in  the  Queen's  speech 
for  the  relief  of  the  sufferers  by  the  depression  in 
trade  and  agriculture,  particularly  in  regard  to 
affording  facilities  to  farm-laborers,  etc.,  for  ob- 
taining allotments  of  small  holdings  on  equitable 
terms  as  to  rent  and  security  of  tenure,  and  when 
the  question  came  up,  on  the  same  evening  that 
Hicks-Beach  announced  the  Coercion  policy  of 
Government,  Mr.  Parnell  and  Mr.  Gladstone 
joined    forces    in    its   support    and    carried    the 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  227 

amendment  by  a  vote  of  329  to  250.  And,  al- 
though the  defeat  came  on  an  English,  not  on  an 
Irish  question,  it  was  the  Irish  vote  that  turned 
the  Government  out,  as  in  1885. 

Mr.  Gladstone  now  took  up  the  reins  of  gov- 
ernment once  more,  and  at  the  outset  avowed  his 
intention  to   conciliate   the   Irish.     He   sent   the 


CHAKLK.s  DA.W809r,  WL  r. 

Earl  of  Aberdeen  to  Ireland  as  Lord-Lieutenant 

and  John  Morley  as  Chief  Secretary,  both  ap- 
pointments being  acceptable  to  the  Parnellites, 
but  the  latter  especially  so,  as  Mr.  Morley  was  a 
pronounced  Home  Ruler.  Not  to  do  things  by 
halves,  Mr.  Gladstone  followed  up  these  conces- 
sions to  National  sentiment  by  declaring  his  pur- 
pose of  introducing  at  an  early  day  a  bill  which 


228  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

would  do  substantial  justice  to  Ireland.  This  an- 
nouncement aroused  a  fierce  protest  from  nearly 
every  one  of  the  great  English  papers  and  caused 
the  withdrawal  from  the  cabinet  of  Joseph  Cham- 
berlain and  Mr.  Trevelyan,  but  Mr.  Gladstone  soon 
filled  the  vacancies  and  persevered  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  his  bill. 

The  day  set  for  the  introduction  of  the  measure 
was  April  8,  and  it  wras  awaited  with  an  anxiety 
never  before  paralleled  in  the  history  of  British 
legislation.  For  weeks  before  the  eventful  day 
the  most  intense  interest  was  manifested,  not  only 
in  Ireland  and  in  Great  Britain,  but  in  America 
and  Australia.  When  the  day  at  length  arrived, 
the  excitement  was  at  fever-heat,  and,  long  before 
the  hour  for  opening  Parliament,  every  available 
seat  in  the  Commons  was  bespoken  in  behalf  of 
princes,  princesses,  dukes,  duchesses,  ambassadors, 
distinguished  strangers,  and  friends  of  the  members, 
while  dense  crowds  thronged  the  streets  in  the  vi- 
cinity, unmindful  of  a  pouring  rain-storm.  When 
prayer-time  came,  the  House  was  crowded  in  every 
part,  and  for  the  first  time  strangers  were  permitted 
to  hear  prayers  read,  a  decided  innovation,  as  the 
chamber  is  supposed  to  be  closed  to  all  but  mem- 
bers until  that  ceremony  is  over.  Within  five 
minutes  after  prayer,  Mr.  Gladstone  arose,  amid 
the  cheers  of  the  Liberals  and  Parnellites,  and 
began  his  great  speech,  one  of  the  finest  and  most 
eloquent  efforts  that  he  ever  made.     His  voice  fell 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  229 

upon  a  breathless  audience,  now  like  a  zephyr 
which  lulls  to  confidence  and  now  like  a  tornado 
which  rouses  to  revolution.  He  was  at  his  best 
physically,  and  with  that  masterly  command  of 
language  for  which  he  is  justly  celebrated,  he 
wrung  an  unwilling  tribute  of  admiration  from  the 
bitterest  foes  of  his  reform. 

The  scene  in  the  House  was  at  times  intensely 
dramatic.  Mr.  Gladstone  began  in  his  usual  calm 
and  hesitating  manner,  and  with  a  husky  voice. 
His  audience,  however,  could  scent  the  battle  from 
afar  as  he  declared  that  "  we  should  no  longer 
fence  or  skirmish  with  this  question.  We  should 
come  to  close  quarters  with  it."  lie  followed 
his  own  advice  when,  after  referring  to  the 
colonial  legislatures  which  have  never  imperilled 
the  integrity  of  the  Empire,  he  was  silent  for  a 
moment,  and  then  added  slowly  that  his  proposal 
was  "to  set  up  a  Parliament  in  Dublin. "  The 
reasons  for  this  course  were  given  in  a  few  words  : 
"  England  made  her  own  laws  ;  Scotland  had  been 
encouraged  to  make  her  own  laws.  The  conse- 
quence was  that  the  mainspring  of  the  law*  in 
England  and  Scotland  was  felt  to  be  English  or 
Scotch.  The  mainspring  of  the  law  in  Ireland 
was  not  felt  by  the  people  to  be  Irish."  The 
problem,  therefore,  which  Parliament  was  called 
upon  to  solve  was,  he  said,  ff  How  to  reconcile 
imperial  unity  with  diversity  of  legislatures." 

In  developing  the  details  of  his  plan,  Mr.  Glad- 


230  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

stone  declared  that  the  Irish  Parliament  which  he 
proposed  would  concern  itself  exclusively  with 
Irish  affairs  ;  that  in  due  course  it  would  have 
control  of  the  constabulary  ;  that  it  would  have  to 
pay  its  proportional  share  of  the  imperial  burdens  ; 
that  it  would  not  control  the  customs  nor  the 
excise  ;  that  it  would  manage  its  own  post-office  ; 
that  it  Avould  have  absolute  control  over  all  purely 
local  taxes ;  that  it  would  be  forbidden  all  inter- 
ference with  foreign  and  colonial  relations ;  that 
the  power  would  be  withheld  from  it  of  passing  a 
law  for  the  establishment  or  endowment  of  any 
religion  ;  that  it  would  have  to  resign  everything 
relating  to  the  prerogatives  of  the  Crown,  or  the 
succession,  to  a  permanent  Viceroy,  who  might  be 
a  Catholic ;  that  it  would  have  no  concern  with 
the  defence  —  with  the  army,  navy,  or  entire 
organization  of  armed  force ;  that  the  Irish  rep' 
resentatives  were  to  no  longer  have  seats  in 
Westminster  ;  and  that  the  Irish  Parliament  would 
consist  of  two  orders,  one  possessing  property 
qualifications,  the  other  elected  on  a  popular  basis. 
In  presenting  his  plan,  Mr.  Gladstone  spoke  for 
three  hours  and  twenty  minutes,  with  all  the  fire 
and  force  and  eloquence  of  his  more  youthful  days. 
He  concluded  his  speech  in  these  words  :  — 

I  have  no  right  to  say  that  Ireland,  through 
her  constitutionally  elected  members,  will  accept  the 
measure  I  propose.  I  hope  they  will,  but  I  have  no 
right  to  assume  it,  nor  have  I  any  power  to  enforce  it 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  231 

upon  the  people  of  England  and  Scotland;  but  I 
rely  on  the  patriotism  and  the  sagacity  of  this  House, 
on  a  free  and  full  discussion,  and,  more  than  all,  upon 
the  just  and  generous  sentiments  of  the  two  British 
nations ;  and,  looking  forward,  I  ask  the  House, 
believing  that  no  trivial  motive  could  have  driven  us 
to  assist  in  the  work  we  have  undertaken  —  work 
which  we  believe  will  restore  Parliament  to  its  free 
and  unimpeded  course  —  I  ask  them  to  stay  the  waste 
of  the  public  treasure  under  the  present  system  of 
government  and  administration  in  Ireland,  which  is 
not  waste  only,  but  waste  which  demoralizes  while  it 
exhausts.  I  ask  them  to  show  to  Europe  and  America 
that  we,  too,  can  face  the  political  problems  which 
America  had  to  face  twenty  years  ago,  and  which 
many  countries  in  Europe  have  been  called  on  to  face 
and  have  not  feared  to  deal  with.  I  ask  that  we 
shall  practise  as  we  have  very  often  preached,  and  that 
in  our  own  case  we  should  be  firm  and  fearless  in 
applying  the  doctrine  we  have  often  inculcated  on 
others  —  that  the  concession  of  local  self-government 
is  not  the  way  to  sap  and  impair,  but  to  strengthen 
and  consolidate  our  unity.  I  ask  that  we  should  learn 
to  rely  less  on  mere  written  stipulations  and  more  on 
those  better  stipulations  written  on  the  heart  and  mind 
of  man.  I  ask  that  we  should  apply  to  Ireland  the 
happy  experience  we  have  gained  in  England  and 
Scotland,  where  a  course  of  generations  has  now 
taught  us,  not  as  a  dream  or  a  theory,  but  as  a  matter 
of  practice  and  of  life,  that  the  best  and  surest  foun- 
dation we  can  find  to  build  on  is  the  foundation 
afforded  by  the  affections  and  convictions  and  will  of 
man,   and    that   it   is   thus,   by    the    decree    of    the 


232 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 


Almighty,  that  far  more  than  by  any  other  method 
we  may  be  able  to  secure  at  once  the  social  happiness, 
the  power,  and  the  permanence  of  the  Empire. 

Mr.  Gladstone  resumed  his  seat  amid  bursts  of 
enthusiastic  cheers,  which  were  sustained  for  sev- 


JOHN  DILLON. 


eral  minutes.  After  the  din  had  in  a  measure 
subsided,  Mr.  Trevelyan  arose  to  explain  his  reason 
for  resigning  from  the  cabinet,  which  he  said  was 
because  he  could  never  consent  to  such  a  scheme 
as  the  Prime  Minister  had  just  proposed. 

When  Mr.  Trevelyan  had  finished,  Mr.  Parnell 
arose  and  was  received  with  enthusiastic  cheers 
from  the  Irish  and  Liberal  benches.  The  Irish 
leader  was  as  cold  and  measured  as  usual.     He 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  233 

first  referred  to  Mr.  Trevelyan's  speech,  and  dis- 
posed of  it  in  a  few  brief  and  cutting  sentences ; 
then  referring  to  the  bill  before  the  House,  he 
said  he  would  reserve  his  full  expression  of 
opinion  upon  it  until  he  had  seen  the  bill.  He, 
however,  congratulated  the  House  on  the  fact  that 
there  was  still  living  an  English  statesman  who 
could  devote  his  attention  to  this  important  mat- 
ter, and  begged  to  thank  Mr.  Gladstone  for  what 
would  not  only  prove  a  beneficial  measure  from 
the  Irish  point  of  view,  but  which  he  (Parnell) 
believed  would  be  found  to  be  of  equal  benefit  to 
England.  The  bill,  nevertheless,  contained  blots 
which  the  Irish  representatives  would  do  their 
best  to  remove.  One  of  these  was  to  be  found  in 
the  financial  proposals  of  the  bill,  which  he  re- 
garded as  very  unfavorable  to  Ireland,  especially 
in  regard  to  the  Irish  tribute  to  the  imperial  ex- 
chequer. He  also  complained  of  the  proposition 
relative  to  the  two  orders  intended  to  constitute 
the  Irish  Parliament,  on  the  ground  that  the  first 
order,  consisting  of  peers  not  subject  to  the  influ- 
ence of  the  popular  vote,  would  have  the  power 
of  hanging  up  measures  demanded  by  the  people 
and  their  representatives  for  two  or  three  years. 
On  the  whole,  however,  apart  from  these  defects, 
he  believed  the  measure  would  be  cheerfully  ac- 
cepted by  the  Irish  people  and  their  representa- 
tives as  a  satisfactory  solution  of  the  long-standing 
dispute  between  the  two  countries,  and  as  tending 


234  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

to  prosperity  and  peace  in  Ireland  and  to  satisfac- 
tion in  England.     [Cheers.] 

This  was  the  spirit  in  which  the  Irish  people 
everywhere  received  the  Bill  to  Amend  the  Pro- 
visions for  the  Future  Government  of  Ireland. 
They  were  not  blind  to  its  many  imperfections, 
but  they  saw  in  it  the  recognition  of  the  right  of 
Irishmen  to  govern  themselves  in  their  own  land, 
and  they  were  profoundly  grateful  to  the  English 
Prime  Minister  who  had  the  courage  to  attempt  to 
do  them  justice. 

But  only  the  first  act  of  the  drama  had  as  yet 
been  performed.  The  climax  was  still  to  be  en- 
acted. The  second  reading  of  the  measure  was 
to  be  the  battle-ground,  and  those  who  favored 
the  bill  and  those  who  opposed  it  alike  displayed 
extraordinary  energy  in  preparing  for  the  contest. 
The  anti-Home  Rule  Whigs,  led  by  Lord  Hart- 
ington,  and  the  anti-Home  Eule  Radicals,  led  by 
Mr.  Chamberlain,  made  overtures  to  the  Tories  to 
join  them  in  a  combined  opposition  to  Gladstone 
and  Parnell,  and  the  anti-Nationalist  elements  in 
England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland,  strained  every 
nerve  to  organize  an  effective  opposition. 

The  debate  on  the  measure  was  protracted  for 
nearly  two  months,  and  Avas  marked  by  many  bril- 
liant oratorical  efforts  on  both  sides.  The  Irish 
members,  especially,  distinguished  themselves  by 
their  eloquence,  good  sense,  and  moderation. 
Mr.  Sexton's  speech  in  the  opening  of  the  debate 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  235 

won  the  encomiums  of  friends  and  foes  alike,  and 
added  much  to  the  already  splendid  reputation  of 
the  brilliant  member  for  Sligo.  Other  notable 
vspeeches  were  made  by  T.  M.  Healy,  the  member 
for  South  Deny ;  Justin  McCarthy,  the  member 
for  North  Longford;  William  O'Brien,  editor  of 


T.    P.   O'CONNOR. 

United  Ireland,  and  member  for  Tyrone ;  T.  P. 
O'Connor,  President  of  the  Irish  National  League 
of  Great  Britain,  and  Nationalist  member  from 
Liverpool ;  Joseph  G.  Biggar,  the  sturdy  repre- 
sentative for  Cavan  ;  John  Dillon,  the  member  for 
East  Mayo ;  Edmund  Dwyer  Gray,  editor  of  the 
Freeman's  Journal,  and  member  for  St.  Stephen's 
division,  Dublin ;    T.  D.    Sullivan,  editor  of  the 


236  C.    S.   PARNELL,   M.   P. 

Nation,  member  for  the  College  Green  division, 
and  Lord  Mayor  of  Dublin ;  John  E.  Redmond, 
member  for  Wexford,  and  others  of  the  Irish 
party.  In  the  parliamentary  history  of  England, 
no  measure  was  ever  more  fully  discussed  or  more 
ably  advocated,  and  if  eloquence  could  persuade 
or  reason  convince,  the  passage  of  the  bill  would 
have  been  assured.  But  it  was  prejudice  of  the 
most  unreasoning  kind  and  passion  of  the  most 
malignant  character  that  the  supporters  of  the 
bill  had  to  contend  with  —  not  definite  differences 
of  opinion  or  honest  ignorance  of  the  merits  of 
the  measure.  The  vindictive  character  of  the 
opposition  and  the  insincerity  of  the  motives  of 
many  of  those  who  took  part  in  it  are  best  illus- 
trated in  the  case  of  Mr.  Chamberlain.  He  had 
always  asserted  previously  that  he  was  in  sympa- 
thy with  the  principle  of  Home  Rule  for  Ireland, 
his  only  differences  with  Mr.  Gladstone  being  in 
regard  to  matters  of  detail.  But  when  the  Prime 
Minister  announced  his  readiness  to  make  such 
concessions  in  this  case  as  would  cut  away  all 
foundation  for  Mr.  Chamberlain's  criticisms,  Mr. 
Chamberlain  not  only  persevered  in  his  desertion 
of  his  party,  but  he  redoubled  his  efforts  to  render 
the  opposition  effective. 

The  motion  to  read  the  bill  a  second  time  was 
finally  reached  on  June  7,  amid  scenes  every  whit 
as  exciting  as  those  which  marked  its  introduction. 
The   House  was   crowded   in   every  part.      The 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 


237 


closing  speeches  before  the  division  were  made 
by  Mr.  Goschen  and  Sir  Michael  Hicks-Beach, 
against  the  bill,  and  Mr.  Parnell  and  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, in  favor  of  it,  and  were  among  the  most 
brilliant  of  the  whole  debate.  Mr.  Parnell,  in 
particular,   stood    forth    pre-eminent   among  the 


THOMAS  SEXTON. 

eminent.  Even  the  bitterest  enemies  of  the  Irish 
leader  were  compelled  to  accord  his  speech  the 
tribute  of  their  admiration.  Mr.  Gladstone  char- 
acterized it  as  "a  masterly  exposition,"  and  such 
it  was,  indeed,  not  only  of  the  measure  under  dis- 
cussion, but  of  the  whole  Irish  case.  It  was  said 
of  this  speech  that  had  it  been  made  earlier  it 
would  have  saved  the   bill,  and  that,  even  as  it 


238  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

was,  many  well-meaning  Liberals  who  had  prom- 
ised to  vote  against  the  Government  were  so  moved 
by  its  power  that  they  implored  Mr.  Chamberlain 
to  release  them  from  their  pledges,  but,  of  course, 
they  implored  in  vain. 

The  debate  of  this  evening  marked  an  important 
epoch  in  the  history  of  the  Irish  Nationalist  strug- 
gle. It  was  opened  by  Mr.  George  J.  Goschen, 
one  of  the  ablest  of  the  Liberal  dissidents,  who 
made  a  vigorous  attack  upon  the  bill.  In  the 
course  of  his  speech,  he  said  :  — 

During  the  recess,  I  heard  one,  now  a  minister  of 
the  Crown,  say  he  was  certain  that  Mr.  Parnell  would 
be  dictator  in  the  coming  session.  I  think,  however, 
that  Mr.  Parnell's  followers  will  now  acknowledge 
that  there  are  limits  whereat  they  see  many  who  are 
prepared  to  grant  some  legislative  autonomy  to  Ireland 
would  draw  the  line.  The  House  will  remember  the 
first  reading  of  this  bill,  and  will  recall  the  Right 
Hon.  Chief  Secretary  for  Ireland's  repeated  allusions 
to  certain  dark  subterranean  forces.  We  do  not  hear 
so  much  thereof  now.  They  have  withdrawn  to  a  great 
extent,  though  not  entirely,  from  the  light.  The  cur- 
tain has  been  dropped  over  those  terrible  times  and 
tragedies  which  have  scarcely  faded  from  our  memor- 
ies. The  alarmed  Home  Secretary  of  the  Premier's 
last  government  is  now  able  to  re-appear  as  chancellor 
of  the  exchequer,  with  great  jocularity  and  light-heart? 
edness  to  make  merry  over  what  he  calls  the  melo- 
dramatic terrors.  I  wonder  whether  this  began  on  the 
day  when  he  first  pinned  on  his  arm,  over  his  ministerial 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  239 

uniform,  the  Home  Rule  badge  of  the  Pamellites  to 
wear.  [Loud  opposition  cheers.]  We  know  that  a 
truce  has  been  proclaimed,  and  that  a  part  of  the  dark 
subterranean  forces  have  been  told  off  to  terrify  British 
public  opinion.  They  are  simply  holding  their  hands, 
though.  The  devil  is  still  working  in  some  parts  of 
Ireland.  [Cheers.]  The  British  democracy  are  asked 
to  do  justice  [Parnellite  cheers],  but  they  will  require 
to  see  justice  done,  and  I  should  have  thought  that 
the  Parnellites  would  have  used  their  great  influence 
and  vast  organization  to  help  discover  the  perpetrators 
of  these  vile  outrages.  [Opposition  cheers.]  I  don't 
say  they  can  do  it.  The  matter  may  have  passed  be- 
yond their  power.  We  have  a  right,  however,  to 
pause  when  we  are  asked  to  place  the  protection  of 
life  in  Ireland  in  the  hands  of  a  new  and  untutored 
executive  and  at  the  same  time  relinquish  the  control 
of  the  police.     [Parnellite  cries  of  "No!  No!"] 

The  presence  of  Irish  members  at  Westminster  is 
incompatible  with  a  separate  Irish  Parliament.  It  will 
be  impossible  to  include  Ulster  in  a  Dublin  Parliament. 
[Parnellite  cries  of  "  No !  No  !  "]  The  clauses  relating 
to  taxation  and  finance  are  also  inherent  defects  in  the 
bill. 

If  the  bill  passed,  a  tremendous  struggle  would  be 
inaugurated  by  the  Catholic  clergy  of  Ireland  for  the 
control  of  education  in  that  country.  It  now  required 
the  imperial  Parliament's  moderating  influence  to 
deter  Protestants  and  Catholics  from  making  extreme 
demands.  They  were  unable  to  ignore  the  differences 
of  creed,  class,  and  race.  A  neutral  hand  was  neces- 
sary to  deal  with  the  rival  sections,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  recent  difficulty  in  Belfast.     The  bill  contains  the 


240  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    r. 

elements  of  commercial,  financial,  and  legislative  fric- 
tion. The  establishment  of  a  separate  executive  will 
lead  to  friction  and  separation.  Difficulties  will  arise 
under  the  Foreign  Enlistment  Act,  and  in  cases  like 
that  of  the  Alabama,  the  imperial  Parliament  would 
be  responsible  for  the  acts  of  the  Irish  executive  and 
yet  be  powerless  to  control  the  executive.  The  Can- 
adian executive  was  now  in  trouble  with  America. 
England  was  responsible  for  Canada  and  had  to  settle 
the  difficulty.  The  Premier's  friends  have  not  conde- 
scended to  reply  to  that  argument.  Suppose  discontent 
arose,  culminating  in  agitation  and  ultimate  separation. 
Members  must  not  forget  Mr.  Morley's  warning  that 
if  discontent  arose  in  Ireland  the  Irish-Americans 
would  place  material  resources  at  Ireland's  command. 
If  Parliament  parted  with  the  executive  power  in 
Ireland,  and  alienated  its  friends  and  made  them 
bitter  foes,  and  placed  the  executive  power  in  new  and 
untried  hands,  how  would  they  meet  this  difficulty? 
Suppression  by  force  was  held  up  as  a  remedy.  Sir 
William  Harcourt  pointed  out  that  Grattan's  Parlia- 
ment was  more  independent  than  the  one  now  proposed. 
Was  the  Irish  executive  at  the  time  of  Grattan's 
Parliament  so  independent  that  it  was  by  the  execu- 
tive that  the  two  countries  were  held  together? 
["Hear!  Hear!"  from  Mr.  'Gladstone,  and  cheers.] 
Opponents  of  the  bill  wanted  the  two  countries  to  be 
held  together.  The  Premier  would  not  admit  that  it 
was  their  duty  to  keep  the  two  countries  together. 
[Here  Mr.  Gladstone  expressed  dissent.]  There  was 
no  security  that  the  unity  which  could  be  maintained 
in  Grattan's  time  with  an  independent  Parliament,  but 
dependent  executive,  could  be  maintained  now,  with  a 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  241 

Parliament  and  executive  independent  in  Ireland.  If 
the  storms  which  alone  prevented  a  French  invasion 
of  Ireland  in  1796,  had  not  occurred,  Sir  William  Har- 
court  might  not  have  been  able  to  appeal  with  such 
triumphant  emphasis  to  the  unity  of  the  two  conn- 
tries. 

When  Mr.  Goschen  had  concluded,  Mr.  Parnell 
arose  to  reply,  amid  the  enthusiastic  cheers  of 
the  Irish  members.  His  speech  is  subjoined  in 
full : — 

I  should  ordinarily  have  lacked  confidence  in  follow- 
ing so  able  and  eloquent  a  speaker  in  this  contest  of 
giants;  but  I  think  "thrice  i>  he  armed  who  hath  his 
quarrel  just."  [Cheers.]  And  unequal  in  fervor  as  I 
am  at  many  points,  I  hope  I  shall  not  be  so  far  behind 
as  usual.  ["Hear,  bear.*]  Without  Intending  to 
offer  any  disrespect,  I  could  not  help  thinking,  while 
listening  to  his  speech,  that,  in  all  the  lost  can- 
wherewith    I   h.i\  liiin   connected  during  many 

years  past,  he  was  never  so  little  effective  as  when 
contending  against  the  bill  we  hope  to  read  a  second 
time  to-night.  [Cheers.]  Mr.  Goschen  sought,  I  think 
very  unfairly,  to  cast  a  lurid  light  on  the  situation  by 
his  allusion  to  those  unhappy  outrages  in  Fferry.  T 
join  in  the  expression  of  contempt  for  those  cowardly, 
disgraceful  practices.  I  join  him  to  the  fullest  extent. 
[« Hear,  hear."]  But  neither  do  I  say  that,  because 
evictions  have  been  more  numerous  in  Kerry  than  in 
all  the  rest  of  Minister  put  together  during  months 
past,  they  constitute  an  excuse  for  these  outrages,  or 
any  excuse  for  outrage,  though  it  may  supply  us  with 
the  cause  of  them.     But  w  hen  I  denounce  outrages,  I 


242  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

denounce  them  in  every  part  of  Ireland,  whether  in 
Ulster  or  in  Kerry.  ["  Hear,  hear."]  Mr.  Goschen  is 
certainly. free  from  reproach.  He  has  not  joined  Lord 
Randolph  Churchill  and  Mr.  Chamberlain  in  the  use  of 
reckless  language  with  reference  to  the  affairs  of  a 
country  which  is  not  their  country  [cheers]  ;  an  inter- 
ference for  which  they  have  not  the  paltry  excuse  that 
it  is  any  business  of  theirs,  or  that  they  had  any  inter- 
est there.  My  colleagues  have,  in  times  past,  been 
reproached  because  they  have  not  been  careful  in  look- 
ing at  the  effect  of  their  language,  and  the  doctrine  of 
indirect  responsibility  has  been  employed  against  them 
to  the  extent  of  imprisonment.  If  that  doctrine  of 
indirect  responsibility  were  employed  against  Lord 
Randolph  Churchill  or  Mr.  Chamberlain,  Lord  Ran- 
dolph Churchill  ought  to  plead  the  excuse  that  he 
believes  in  nothing  and  nobody  but  himself,  so  that  he 
could  not  expect  any  great  importance  to  be  attached 
to  his  declarations  [cheers  and  laughter] ;  while  Mr. 
Chamberlain  might  have  said,  and  said  very  truly,  that 
he  was  absolutely  ignorant  of  all  the  circumstances  of 
Ireland.  His  celebrated  projected  visit  there  last 
autumn  not  having  come  off,  he  really  could  not  know 
what  would  be  the  effect  of  his  language.  [Cheers.] 
However,  we  have  the  result  now  in  one  murder 
already  committed  in  Belfast ;  and  I  trust  that  all  the 
future  members  will  remember  the  importance  and 
gravity  of  occurrences  which  may  follow  in  Ulster. 
Those  occurrences  cannot  go  further,  at  the  outside, 
than  outrage  and  assassination ;  but  they  will  depend 
very  much  upon  what  is  said  on  this  subject,  and  the 
amount  of  importance  given  to  the  doings  of  Ulster 
men.    We  do  say  and  admit  that  these  occurrences  are 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.   P.  243 

to  be  condemned,  and  should  be  stopped.  But  while 
Lord  Randolph  Churchill  and  Mr.  Goschen  say  they 
must  be  put  an  end  to  by  resorting  to  the  coercion 
which  he  and  his  friends  have  been  using  for  the  last 
eighty-six  years,  we  would  say,  with  Mr.  Gladstone, 
try  the  effect  of  self-government  [cheers] ;  then  if 
Kerry  men  resort  to  outrage,  they  will  very  soon  find 
that  the  rest  of  Ireland  will  put  a  stop  to  it.  [Re- 
newed cheers.]  Mr.  Goschen  referred  to  recent  events 
in  Belfast;  but,  before  I  deal  with  that  terrible  mat- 
ter, I  wish  to  give  an  explanation,  because,  as  usual, 
one  of  the  English  newspapers  has  perverted  for  its 
own  purposes  what  I  believe  actually  took  place. 
[Irish  cheers.]  I  am  pained  to  see  that  the  struggle  is 
alleged  to  have  arisen  out  of  an  expression  used  by 
a  Catholic  to  a  fellow-workman,  who  was  a  Protestant, 
to  the  effect  tiiat  in  a  short  time  none  of  his  persuasion 
would  be  allowed  to  earn  a  crust  of  bread  in  Ireland. 
That,  however,  does  not  accurately  represent  all  the 
facts,  as  reported  in  the  local  newspapers.  [Cheers 
and  count er-checrs.]  According  to  them,  what  took 
place  was  this :  The  overseer  of  the  works  found  fault 
with  the  way  in  which  an  Orange,  or,  at  all  events,  a 
Protestant,  workman  was  digging  a  drain.  The  over- 
seer said,  "That  is  a  nice  way  to  do  the  work!" 
Whereupon  the  Orangeman  replied  to  the  overseer, 
who  happened  to  be  a  Catholic,  "  What  does  a  Papist 
know  about  digging  drains?"  [Laughter.]  The  over- 
seer, irritated,  —  I  do  not  say  justly  irritated,  because 
it  was  absurd  for  him  to  have  been  irritated  by  such  a 
remark, — said  to  the  Orangeman,  "You  will  never 
earn  a  crust  on  these  works  again,"  meaning  that  he 
was  dismissed.     Thereupon   the   Orangeman   took  his 


244  C.    S.    PAttNELL,    M.    P. 

shovel  and  left  his  work.  I  believe  that  as  he  was 
going  out  he  was  assaulted  by  one  or  more  of  the 
workmen.  [Derisive  laughter.]  It  is  very  difficult  to 
know  what  actually  took  place ;  but  it  is  of  great  im- 
portance that  the  House  understand  the  remark  in 
question  had  not  a  general  application,  but  only  an 
individual  one.  [Parnellite  cheers.]  I  do  not  attempt 
to  justify  the  occurrence,  because  it  was  a  very  sad 
one.  Mr.  Goschen  spoke  about  the  sovereignty  of 
Parliament.  Upon  this  point  I  agree  with  the  defini- 
tion given  by  Mr.  Bryce.  [Cheers*]  We  know  per- 
fectly well  —  we  have  always  known  since  this  bill  was 
introduced  —  the  difference  between  a  co-ordinate  and 
a  subordinate  Parliament.  [Cheers.]  We  know  that 
the  legislature  which  the  Premier  wishes  to  constitute 
is  a  subordinate  Parliament,  not  like  Grattan's,  which 
was  co-equal  [Mr.  Gladstone — "Hear,  hear"],  arising 
out  of  the  same  constitution  and  in  the  same  manner 
as  this  Parliament,  given  by  the  sovereign.  [Ministe- 
rial cheers.]  We  understand  this  perfectly  well ;  and 
we  should  undoubtedly  have  preferred  —  as  I  stated  on 
the  introduction  of  the  bill,  as  showing  that  I  could 
not  accept  this  as  a  final  settlement  of  the  question  — 
we  should  have  preferred  the  restitution  of  the  Grattan 
Parliament.  [Parnellite  cheers.]  It  would  have  been 
more  in  accord  with  the  sentiments  of  the  Irish  people, 
and  sentiment  goes  a  long  way  with  a  people  like  the 
Irish.  [Cheers.]  At  the  same  time,  I  am  bound  to 
say  that  if  I  preferred  the  Grattan  Parliament,  there 
are  practical  advantages  in  the  proposals  before  us 
which  limit  and  subordinate  this  Parliament  to  that  in 
which  we  now  sit.  It  may  be  of  even  greater  advan- 
tage   to    the    Irish     people    than    a    Parliament     like 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.   P.  245 

Grattan's,  and  much  more  likely  to  be  a  final  settle- 
ment of  the  question.  [Cheers.]  Grattan's  Parliament 
had  many  disadvantages.  First,  it  had  a  House  of 
Lords.  ["Hear,  hear,"  and  laughter.]  We  get  rid 
of  the  House  of  Lords  under  Mr.  Gladstone's  consti- 
tution. [Cheers.]  True,  there  is  to  be  in  its  place 
the  first  order  —  a  very  salutary  provision.  I  do  not 
pledge  myself  to  all  the  details  and  qualifications,  but 
I  say  generally  that  the  first  order  is  a  very  salutary 
provision,  which  will  tend  to  prevent  rash  legislation 
and  immoderate  action.  [Cheers.]  I  would  rather 
see  the  bill  hung  up  ten  years  by  a  body  like  the 
first  order  in  Ireland  than  see  it  hung  up  for  a 
single  twenty-four  hours  by  this  imperial  Parliament. 
[Cheers.]  I  venture  to  express  the  opinion  that  the 
existent  action  of  the  imperial  Parliament,  the  constant 
means  of  overseeing,  as  is  suggested  by  Mr.  Chamber- 
lain, would  not  have  the  same  success,  and  would  not 
be  so  acceptable  to  the  Irish  people,  as  the  measure 
now  proposed.  [Cheers.]  Indeed,  Mr*  Chamberlain's 
proposals  would,  I  believe,  be  mischievous  and  danger- 
ous, and  would  prevent  any  settlement  being  arrived 
at  which  would  be  satisfactory  to  the  Irish  people. 
[Parnellite  cheers.]  On  the  other  hand,  when  we  have 
assembled  in  our  own  chamber  in  Ireland,  all  the  dif- 
ferent sections  of  the  Irish  people,  those  causes  and 
effects  which  always  arise  will  come  into  operation 
again,  and  will  lead  to  satisfactory  results.  The  result 
of  the  two  orders  working  together  in  the  same  cham- 
ber will  enable  great  questions  to  be  settled  on  a  basis 
of  compromise  more  or  less  satisfactory  to  all  parties. 
[Cheers.]  We  understand  perfectly  well  that  the 
imperial  Parliament  has  ultimate  supremacy  and  ulti- 


246  C.    S.    PAKNELL,    M.    P. 

mate  sovereignty.  I  quite  agree  with  Mr.  Gladstone, 
and  think  it  one  of  the  most  valuable  parts  of  the  bill. 
I  quite  agree  that  that  which  Mr.  Gladstone  offers  — 
namely,  the  responsibility  of  maintaining  order  in  Ire- 
land by  an  Irish  Parliament  —  is  a  correct  provision, 
which  no  state  could  exist  without.  [Irish  cheers.] 
The  supremacy  of  the  imperial  Parliament,  however, 
will  not  be  affected  by  this  if  the  Irish  party  executes 
the  powers  given  to  it,  while  in  some  cases  it  may  be 
rendered  more  effective  than  ever.  [Cheers.]  In  ac- 
cepting the  bill,  we  accept  honorable  obligations,  and 
we  pledge  ourselves  for  the  Irish  people,  as  far  as  we 
can  pledge  ourselves  [derisive  cheering  and  laughter], 
that  the  powers  given  shall  not  be  abused  [Parnellite 
cheers]  ;  to  devote  all  the  energy,  ability,  and  influence 
we  may  have  with  our  people  to  prevent  them  from 
abusing  the  powers  intrusted  to  them  [cheers]  ;  that, 
if  abuses  take  place,  the  imperial  Parliament  may 
intervene  in  cases  of  grave  emergency.  You  have  the 
power,  the  authority,  and  the  force,  and  if  abuses  are 
perpetrated,  you  have  the  remedy  in  your  own  hands. 
In  a  case  of  this  kind,  you  would  have  just  the  same 
authority  you  would  have  whether  this  bill  had  been 
brought  forward  or  not;  and  this  we  recognize.  I 
said  this  on  the  introduction  of  the  bill.  I  said  we 
would  accept  it  as  a  final  settlement,  and  that  I  be- 
lieved the  Irish  people  would  do  so.  I  will  say  no 
more  upon  this  point ;  but  my  words  have  been  singu- 
larly justified.  [Parnellite  cheers.]  We  have  had 
this  measure  accepted  by  all  leaders  of  every  section 
of  the  national  feeling  in  Ireland,  also  outside  of  Ire- 
land, in  America,  and  in  every  country  where  Irish 
people  are  found,     [Cheers,]     We  have  not  heard  a 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    Iff.    P.  247 

single  voice  raised  against  the  bill  by  an  Irishman. 
[Cheers  and  cries  of  "Oh."]  Certainly  not  by  any 
Irishmen  of  Nationalist  opinion.  Of  course,  there  is 
a  section  among  the  Irish  Nationalists,  just  as  there 
are  sections  of  the  great  Conservative  party.  In 
fact,  as  far  as  it  is  possible  for  a  nation  to  accept  a 
measure  cheerfully,  freely,  thankfully,  and  without 
reserve,  I  say  the  Irish  people  have  shown  that  they 
have  so  accepted  this  measure.  [Cheers.]  Even  the 
terrible  Irish  World,  a  newspaper  which  has  not  been 
on  my  side  for  the  last  fi\Q  or  six  years,  says  that  the 
Irish  race  at  home  and  abroad  has  signified  its  willing- 
ness to  accept  the  terms  of  peace  offered  by  Mr.  Glad- 
stone. [Cheers.]  I  can  say  that  as  far  as  the  Irish 
can  accept  this  bill,  they  have  accepted  it  without 
any  reserve  as  a  measure  which  may  be  considered  the 
final  settlement  of  this  great  question. 

I  leave  the  question  of  the  sovereignty  of  Parlia- 
ment, to  go  to  another  point  which  Mr.  Goschen 
touched  upon.  lie  very  fairly  told  us  his  fears  as  to 
the  abuse  of  power  by  the  Irish  priesthood  regarding 
education.  He  has  not  followed  the  example  of  other 
illustrious  speakers  by  indulging  in  extravagant  lan- 
guage regarding  this  Catholic-Protestant  question.  I 
may  say  I  am  quite  sure  his  appreciation  is  genuine  so 
far  as  it  goes,  and  that  he  does  not  desire  to  see  any- 
thing in  the  shape  of  religious  discord  incited.  In- 
deed, I  will  not  say  that,  as  a  Protestant  myself,  if  I 
had  not  had  abundant  experience  of  the  feeling  in  Ire- 
land, I  might,  perhaps,  be  inclined  to  share  his  fears. 
But,  as  it  is,  I  certainly  have  not  such  fear.  It  is 
rather  remarkable,  in  regard  to  this  question  of  educa- 
tion, that  Mr.  Chamberlain  proposed  to  give  the  cen- 


248  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

tral  council  in  Dublin  executive  control  over  education 
in  Ireland  without  any  reserve  whatever  in  regard  to 
Protestants  or  Catholics.  [Cheers.]  It  is,  however, 
very  hard  to  please  everybody.  And  if  we  were  to 
please  Mr.  Chamberlain  by  agreeing  to  give  education 
to  the  control  of  the  body  which  Mr.  Gladstone  pro- 
poses to  establish,  we  would  be  unfortunate  in  running 
foul  of  Mr.  Goschen,  but  I  think  I  can  assure  him  that 
we  shall  be  able  to  settle  this  question  of  education 
very  well  among  ourselves.  [Cheers.]  There  are 
many  Liberal  Nationalists.  I  call  them  Liberal 
Nationalists,  because  I  think  it  the  right  phrase  in 
reference  to  its  application  to  education,  as  to  which 
they  are  liberal.  They  do  not  share  the  views  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  on  the  question  of  education. 
There  are  many  Liberal  Nationalists  in  Ireland,  who 
very  much  desire  to  see  the  people  of  Ulster  sharing 
the  responsibilities  and  feelings  they  have  regarding 
education.  I  can  assure  the  House  that,  with  Ulster 
in  the  Irish  Legislature,  with  such  representatives  as 
we  see  coming  from  Ulster  to  this  House,  there  would 
not  be  the  slightest  risk,  even  if  there  wrere  any  idea 
on  the  part  of  the  Catholic  hierarchy  of  using  their 
power  unfairly  against  the  Protestants,  that  such  a 
thing  could  ever  take  place.  [Cheers.]  We  should 
be  able  to  settle  this  question,  to  the  satisfaction  of 
everybody  concerned,  among  ourselves.  [Cheers.]  I 
will  remind  the  House  that  denominational  education 
will  undoubtedly  be  established  in  Ireland.  [Cheers.] 
This  subject  has  been  already  considered.  Mr.  Cham- 
berlain thinks  that  denominational  education  would 
be  the  right  thing  for  Ireland.  We  may  say  if  Parlia- 
ment remains  as  it  is,  and  Ireland  as  she  is,  we  should 


C.    S.    TARNELL,    M.    P.  249 

find  denominational  education  Without  effective  con- 
trol impossible  on  the  part  of  the  Ulster  Protestants. 
Mr.  Goschen  mentioned  the  linen  trade.  I  have  not 
had  the  advantage  of  reading  the  correspondence  to 
which  he  referred,  but  it  appeared  to  tend  to^prove 
that  the  linen  trade  had  been  a  curse  to  [lister,  not 
directly,  but  indirectly,  because  it  induced  the  peas- 
antry to  pay  rack  rents  which  the  landlords  would  not 
otherwise  have  insisted  on.  I  think  Mr,  Goschen  is  not 
quite  lair  regarding  this  question.  I  observed  a  simi- 
lar reticence  when  he  dealt  with  the  financial  question, 
on  which  he  made  such  a  point  on  the  first  reading  in 
his  speech,  which  undoubtedly  produced  a  great  sen- 
sation throughout  the  country.  I  and  others  who 
listened  to  the  speech  understood  him  to  argue  that,  as 
Ulster  was  Wealthier  than  any  of  the  three  other 
provinces,  SO  heavy  a  share  of  the  burden  would  fall 
on  Ulster  that  it  would  be  impossiWe  to  carry  on  a 
government  in  Ireland.  Mr.  Goschen's  comparison  of 
the  great  wealth  of  Ulster  with  that  of  the  other 
provinces  was  taken  up  by  the  Loyal  Patriotic  Unions 
throughout  the  country  as  a  sort  of  war-cry.  Mr. 
Goschen  chose  as  his  standard  of  comparison  sched- 
ule I),  of  the  income-tax  list,  referring  to  trades  and 
professions.  But  surely  the  plain  standards  of  rela- 
tive wealth  are  assessments  under  all  schedules,  as  well 
as  the  value  of  ratable  property.  If  he  had  taken 
these  he  would  have  shown  that,  so  far  from  Ulster 
being  the  wealthiest  of  the  four  provinces,  she  comes 
third,  after  Leinster  and  Minister,  being  only  superior 
to  the  impoverished  Connaught.  These  standards  of 
the  income  tax  show  for  Leinster  £10  65.  9d.  per  head  ; 
for  Munster,  £6  0$.  Id.  \  for  Ulster,  £5  14s.  bd. ;  Con- 


250  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

naught,  £3  135.  7cl,  the  relative  proportions  in  wealth 
in  decimals  being:  9.92,  Leinster;  5.78,  Munster;  5.48, 
Ulster,  and  little  more  than  half  the  wealth  of  Lein- 
ster, 3.53,  for  Coimaught.  [Cheers.]  If  you  make 
any  other  fair  test,  the  result  will  be  the  same.  But 
Mr.  Goschen  has  argued  that  there  was  great  disparity 
between  the  Protestant,  or  northeastern  counties,  and 
the  Catholic  counties.  In  regard  to  Ulster,  he  had 
represented  the  disparity  to  be  a  great  deal  larger  than 
it  really  is,  through  the  system  of  comparison  he  had 
chosen,  a  system  that  was  not  fair,  but  one  that  would 
show  best  for  his  argument.  Undoubtedly  there  is  a 
disparity  between  the  relative  wealth  oi  the  north- 
eastern counties  and  the  other  counties,  but  the  same 
disproportion  runs  through  the  whole  of  Ireland.  If 
you  draw  a  meridian  line  through  Ireland,  the  county 
to  the  east  is  comparatively  prosperous,  and  that  to 
the  west  comparatively  poor.  The  reason  is  obvi- 
ous :  a  country's  wealth  goes  towards  its  trading 
coast.  The  trade  of  Ireland,  its  ports  of  shipping, 
and  its  main  distributing  centres,  where  business  men 
and  men  of  wealth  congregate,  are  found  in  the  east. 
As  is  only  natural,  east  Ulster,  Munster  and  Leinster 
are  wealthier  than  the  rest  of  those  provinces. 

We  come  now  to  the  question  of  the  protection  of 
the  loyal  minority.  It  is  a  question  upon  which  great 
attention  has  been  bestowed.  One  would  think  that 
Protestant  Ireland  was  going  to  be  handed  over  to 
the  tender  mercies  of  thugs  and  bandits.  Major 
Saunderson  [cries  of  "Hear,  hear,"  and  cheers]  —  I  only 
wish  I  was  as  safe  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  when  I  go 
there,  as  Major  Saunderson  would  be  in  the  south. 
[Home  Rule  cheers.]     What  do  these  gentlemen  mean 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  251 

by  protection  of  the  loyal  minority?  In  the  first 
place,  I  would  ask  what  they  mean  by  "  loyal  minor- 
ity." Mr.  Goschen  does  not  seem  to  have  made  up 
his  mind,  even  at  this  late  stage  of  the  debate,  what 
the  loyal  minority  is.  When  asked,  he  said  he  meant 
the  same  loyal  minority  as  the  one  Mr.  Gladstone 
referred  to,  but  he  would  not  commit  himself  by 
telling  us  what  significance  he  attributed  to  Mr. 
Gladstone's  statement.  I  have  examined  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's references  since  then,  and  find  that  Mr.  Glad- 
stone referred  to  the  whole  province  of  Ulster.  He 
did  not  select  a  little  bit  of  the  province,  because  the 
opposition  had  not  discovered  the  point  at  the  time. 
Consequently,  I  suppose  I  may  assume  that  Mr. 
Goschen  also  refers  to  the  whole  province  of  Ulster, 
when  he  asks  that  special  protection  should  be  given. 
He  has  not  told  us  how  he  would  specially  protect  it, 
but  we  may  take  it  from  the  plans  of  his  colleagues. 
Mr.  Chamberlain  has  supplied  a  plan.  lie  has 
claimed  for  Ulster  —  and  I  suppose  Mr.  Goschen, 
when  the  proper  time  comes,  will  support  him  in  that 
claim  —  he  has  claimed  a  separate  Legislature  for 
Ulster.  You  would  not  protect  the  loyal  minority  of 
Ireland,  even  supposing  you  gave  Ulster  a  separate 
Legislature,  because  there  are  outside  of  that  province 
over  four  hundred  thousand  Protestants  who  would 
still  be  without  any  protection,  so  far  as  what  you 
propose  would  give  it  to  them.  You  would  make 
the  position  of  these  four  hundred  thousand  Protes- 
tants, by  taking  away  Ulster  from  them,  infinitely  less 
secure.  [Cheers.]  You  would  not  even  protect  the 
Protestants  of  Ulster,  because  the  Protestants,  accord- 
ing to  their  last  census,  were  in  the  proportion   of 


252  C.    S.    PA11NELL,    M.  P. 

fifty-two  to  forty-eight,  and  we  have  every  reason  to 
believe  that  the  Protestants  and  Catholics  of  Ulster 
are  about  equal  in  number.  However  it  may  be,  the 
Nationalists  have  succeeded  in  returning  the  majority 
of  the  Ulster  members.  [  Home  Rule  cheers.  ]  The 
main  reason  that  we  have  a  majority  of  the  Ulster 
members  is  that  a  large  proportion  of  Protestants  and 
Nationalists  voted  in  closely  divided  constituencies 
throughout  Ulster  in  favor  of  the  Nationalist  candi- 
date. So  you  would  still  have  the  Nationalist  will  to 
deal  with  in  Ulster.  Even  supposing  that  you  had  a 
separate  Legislature  there,  the  first  thing  the  Ulster 
Legislature  would  do  would  be  to  unite  itself  with  the 
Dublin  Parliament.  Driven  away  from  the  fiction  of 
Protestant  Ulster,  the  opponents  of  the  bill  upon  this 
point  seek  refuge  in  the  northeast  corner  of  Ulster, 
consisting  of  three  counties.  Then  there  comes  in  the 
differences  that,  instead  of  protecting  the  majority  of 
the  Irish  Protestants  by  constituting  a  Legislature  for 
the  northeast  corner  of  Ulster,  you  abandon  the 
Protestant  majority  to  their  fate  under  a  Dublin 
Parliament.  Seven-twelfths  of  the  Protestants  in  Ire- 
land live  outside  of  the  three  counties  in  the  northeast 
corner  of  Ulster.  Five-twelfths  of  the  Protestants 
live  in  those  counties.  So,  whatever  way  you  put  it, 
you  must  abandon  the  idea  of  protecting  the  Protes- 
tants in  Ireland  by  the  establishment  of  a  separate 
Legislature  either  in  Ulster  or  in  any  portion  of 
Ulster.  We  cannot  give  up  a  single  Irishman. 
[  Cheers.]  We  want  the  energy,  patriotism,  talent, 
and  work  of  our  Irishmen  [cheers]  to  insure  that  this 
great  experiment  shall  be  a  success.  The  best  system 
of  government  for  a  country  I  believe  to  be  one  that 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    I\  253 

requires  that  the  government  should  be  the  result  of 
all  of  the  forces  of  the  country*  We  cannot  give  away 
to  a  separate  Legislature  any  portion  of  the  talent  and 
influence  of  the  Irish  Protestants.  This  class  will 
form  a  most  valuable  element  in  the  Irish  Legislature, 
constituting  as  they  will  a  strong  minority,  and 
exercising,  through  the  first  order,  a  moderate  in- 
fluence on  the  making  of  laws.  We  have  heard  of  the 
danger  which  will  beset  that  first  trial  by  an  un- 
trained'prentice  Legislature.  I  regard  their  presence 
as  vitally  necessary  in  the  Irish  Parliament.  We 
Want  all  creeds  and  classes  in  our  Parliament.  ["Hear, 
hear."]  We  cannot  consenl  to  look  upon  a  single- 
Irishman  as  not  belonging  to  us,  however  much  we 
recognize  their  great  ability.  We  admit  the  ability  of 
Irish  Protestants  and  their  influence.  We  cannot 
admit  that  there  is  a  single  one  of  them  too  good  to 
take    part    in    the    work.       We    admit    that,     a     small 

proportion  fear  the  treatment  they  will  receive  at  the 

hands  of  the  Irish  Parliament.  We  should  do  our 
best,  as  we  have  been  doing,  to  allay  the  fears  of  this 
small  section.  When  the  bill  becomes  an  act,  we 
shall  not  cease  from  the  WOrV  of  conciliating  the  fears 
of  this  section  of  the  Irish  people.  The  Irish  bear  not 
the  shame  and  disgrace  of  those  fears.     The  shame  and 

disgrace  belong  to  the  gentlemen  and  l^nU  belonging 

to    English     political     parties,     who,     for     the     selfish 

interests  of   these    English   political   parties,  seek  to 

rekindle  the  almost   expiring  embers  of  political  and 

religious  rancor.  [Home  Pule  cheers.]  Ireland  has 
never  injured  Mr.  Chamberlain.  I  do  not  know  why 
he  has  added  the  strength  of  his  powerful  arm,  and 
why-  he  should  have  thrown  his  sword   into   the   scale 


254  C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.    P. 

against  us.  He  and  his  kind  seek  to  dash  this  cup 
from  the  lips  of  the  Irish  people  —  the  first  cup  of 
cold  water  that  has  been  offered  to  our  nation  since 
the  recall  of  Lord  Fitewilliam,  This  settlement,  I 
believe,  will  be  a  final  settlement.  [Cheers,]  The 
question  of  the  retention  of  Irish  members  at  West- 
minster is  one  which  I  shall  touch  upon  very  slightly. 
With  regard  to  this  matter,  I  have  always  desired  to 
keep  my  mind  thoroughly  open  and  not  to  make  a 
vital  question.  I  have  seen  the  great  difficulties 
rather  from  your  point  of  view  than  from  ours.  I 
think,  when  we  come  to  consider  the  question  in 
committee,  these  difficulties  will  grow,  but  I  do  not 
desire,  in  any  sense,  to  prejudice  the  question.  I  admit 
the  existence  of  a  strong  sentiment  on  the  part  of 
Liberal  members  —  I  will  not  say  it  is  a  very  reason- 
able sentiment  —  when  I  consider  how  many  times  my 
colleagues  and  I  have  been  forcibly  ejected,  and  how, 
even  the  necessity  of  suspending,  if  not  entirely 
abrogating  the  representation  of  Ireland  in  this 
House  has  been  eagerly  canvassed  by  the  London 
press  as  the  only  solution  of  the  Irish  question.  This 
difficult  question  requires  very  serious  consideration. 
When  Mr.  Gladstone  has  produced  his  plan,  we  shall, 
without  binding  ourselves  beforehand,  examine  it 
candidly,  with  a  desire  to  see  in  it  elements  which 
will  not  injure  the  permanency  of  the  settlement. 
We  have  gone  through  it  all  before,  and  know  the 
sort  of  coercion  there  has  been  during  the  last  five 
years.  You  will  require  even  a  severer  and  more 
drastic  measure  of  coercion  than  you  have  now. 
You  will  require  everything  you  have  had  during  the 
last  five  years,  and  more  besides.     [Home  Rule  cheers.] 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  255 

And  of  what  sort  has  the  coercion  been  ?  [Renewed 
Home  Rule  cheers.]  I  don't  say  this  to  influence 
passions  or  embitter  animosity,  but  you  have  had, 
during  these  live  years,  suspension  of  habeas  corpus 
in  Ireland.  A  thousand  of  your  fellow-subjects  have 
been  imprisoned  without  specific  charges ;  many  for 
long  periods  —  twenty  months  —  without  trial  — 
without  any  intention  to  try  them.  [Cheers.]  You 
have  had  the  right  of  domicile  infringed.  At  any 
hour  of  day  or  night  you  have  fined  the  innocent  for 
the  guilty;  you  have  taken  the  power  to  expel  aliens 
from  this  country;  you  have  renewed  the  curfew  law 
and  blood  money  of  your  Norman  conquerors.  You 
have  gagged  the  press,  seized  and  suppressed  news- 
papers, manufactured  new  crimes  and  offences,  applied 
fresh  penalties  unknown  to  your  law  —  all  this,  and 
much  more,  you  have  done  in  the  last  live  years. 
[Hume  Rule  cheers.]  All  this,  and  much  more,  you 
will    do    again.      [Loud    opposition    eh<  The 

provision  of  the  bill  terminating  Irish  representa- 
tion here  has  been  vehemently  attacked.  Mr.  Travel- 
yan  said  there  was  no  half-way  house  between 
separation  and  executive  autonomy  for  the  Irish 
people. 

I  say  there  is  no  half-way  house  between  granting 
legislative  autonomy  to  Ireland  and  the  disenfranchise- 
ment  and  disseverance  of  that  country.  But  I  refuse 
to  believe  that  those  evils  will  come.  I  am  convinced 
that  there  are  a  sufficient  number  of  members  who 
will  disregard  the  appeal  which  has  been  made  to  their 
passions,  and  that  when  the  numbers  of  the  division 
have  been  told  to-night,  it  will  be  known  that  this 
Parliament  in  the  nineteenth  century  was  wise,  brave, 


256  C.    S.    FAIlNELL,   M.    P. 

and   generous   enough   to   agree   to   give  peace    and 
happiness  to  suffering  Ireland.     [  Loud  cheers.] 

In  all  his  parliamentary  career,  Mr.  Parnell 
never  showed  to  better  advantage  than  upon  this 
occasion,  or  gave  more  convincing  proof  of  the 
possession  of  those  broad  and  commanding  powers 
necessary  to  a  great  leader.  His  appearance  dur- 
ing the  delivery  of  his  speech  is  thus  described  by 
an  eye-witness  :  —  "He  was  unusually  pale.  He 
commenced  his  speech  nervously.  He  afterward 
followed  the  lines  of  his  manuscript,  which  had 
previously  been  submitted  to  and  approved  by 
Mr.  Sexton.  The  speech  forthwith  assumed  a 
higher  level,  and  the  orator  became  very  impres- 
sive. Every  sentence  was  formed  with  the  great- 
est accuracy  to  express  certain  shades  of  meaning. 
Mr.  ParnelPs  face  flushed  with  affection  and  pride 
when  he  exclaimed  :  ?  We  cannot  surrender  a  sin- 
gle Irishman  ! '  The  concluding  appeal  for  the 
peace  and  prosperity  of  suffering  Ireland  was 
delivered  in  a  chord  of  tender  and  genuine  kind- 
ness, different  from  the  Irish  leader's  usually  cold 
and  dispassionate  tone." 

Sir  Michael  Hicks-Beach  followed  Mr.  Parnell. 
He  claimed  that  the  bill  failed  to  represent  the 
views  of  the  Liberal  party.  It  wras  the  produc- 
tion of  one  man  —  a  man  who  was  the  highest  in 
this  kingdom,  but  still  practically  alone,  the  re- 
mainder of  the  Liberal  leaders  intending  to  vote 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  257 

against  the  bill.  If  Mr.  Parnell  really  thought 
he  could  obtain  from  the  Conservatives  a  bill  more 
agreeable  to  his  party  than  this,  why  not  oppose 
this?  [Laughter.]  He  denied  utterly  and  cate- 
gorically that  the  late  Conservative  government  had 
any  such  intention  as  Mr.  Parnell  attributed  to  it. 


KDMUUD  DWYEK  GKAY. 


Mr.  Parnell  (rising)  —  Does  the  gentleman 
deny  that  an  intention  to  grant  a  Parliament  and 
to  protect  Irish  industries  was  communicated  to 
me  by  one  of  his  own  colleagues,  a  Minister  of 
the  Crown?  [Loud  Parnellite  and  Liberal  cheers.] 

Sir  Michael  —  Yes,  I  do  deny  that  [cries  of 
"Name!"  and  "Order!"],  to  the  best  of  my 
knowledge  and  belief.     [Ironical  cheers.]     If  such 


258  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

a  statement  was  communicated,  it  was  without 
authority  from  my  colleagues.  [Laughter  and 
shouts  of  "  Name ! "  from  the  Government 
benches.]     Will  the  gentleman  give  the  name? 

Mr.  Parnell  —  The  gentleman  has  asked  a  ques- 
tion which  he  knows  is  a  very  safe  one  to  ask. 
[Cries  of  "  Order ! "]  I  shall  be  glad  to  name 
the  gentleman  when  I  receive  permission  from 
him.      [Loud  cheers  and  counter-cheers.] 

Sir  Michael  was  unable  to  proceed,  owing  to 
continual  shouts  of  "  Name  !  "  w  Name  !  "  until  the 
Speaker  intervened,  when  he  continued.  He  said 
that  by  the  code  of  honor  the  gentleman  below 
the  gangway  stopped  at  a  point  where  proof  was 
necessary.  However,  the  question  before  the 
House  was  not  what  the  late  Conservative  gov- 
ernment did  or  what  it  would  have  done  [cries  of 
"Oh,"  and  laughter],  but  what  the  present  gov- 
ernment had  actually  done.  The  bill  had  been 
delayed  to  give  wire-pullers  time  to  employ  per- 
suasion, intimidation,  and  abuse,  and  now  the 
issue  was  confused.  The  vote  members  were 
asked  to  give  would  either  be  a  mischievous  farce, 
or  would  cast  discredit  upon  the  present  system 
of  legislation  for  Ireland.  Without  expressing  an 
opinion,  he  asked  what  should  replace  it.  He 
hoped  the  House  would  not  agree  to  such  a  dan- 
gerous policy.  Mr.  ParnelPs  suggestion  that  the 
loyal  minority  might  be  contented  with  the  two- 
order  system  was  an  extraordinary  statement  from 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  259 

one  who  strongly  objected  to  ex-officio  guardians 
in  poor  law  unions.  The  minority  was  practically 
unanimous  in  fearing  not  so  much  bad  legislation 
resulting  from  the  bill  as  bad  administration. 
Control  could  not  be  given  to  the  majority  in 
Ireland  without  the  risk  of  injustice  to  the  minor- 


T.   D.    bLLLlYA.N. 


ity  far  greater  than  anything  possible  under  any 
Coercion  Act  passed  by  the  imperial  Parliament. 
Whatever  might  J>e  the  result  of  the  division,  it 
was  certain  that  the  majority  of  the  representa- 
tives of  Great  Britain  would  oppose  the  bill.  The 
House  had  no  right  to  modify  the  union  without 
the  previous  consent  of  the  people  of  Great 
Britain,  who  had  not  yet  been  consulted.     Their 


260  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

verdict  alone  could  settle  the  question.  He  be- 
lieved their  verdict  would  be  a  decisive  condem- 
nation. There  might  be  dangers  in  rejecting  the 
bill,  but  the  dangers  would  vanish  with  a  bold 
determination  to  meet  their  responsibility  to  main- 
tain the  union  before  the  nations  of  the  world. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  who  was  the  next  speaker, 
wound  up  the  debate.  He  expressed  his  pleasure 
at  having  listened  to  the  masterly  exposition  by 
Mr.  Parnell,  and  said  :  — 

I  cannot  call  it  less  of  the  member  from  Cork. 
[Loud  cheers  and  opposition  laughter.]  I  feel  a  strong 
conviction  that  speeches  couched  in  a  tone  marked 
alike  by  sound  statesmanship  and  far-seeing  modern 
tion  will  never  fail  to  produce  a  lasting  effect  upon  the 
minds  and  convictions  of  the  people  of  England  and 
Scotland.  With  respect  to  the  personal  question  that 
has  arisen  between  Mr.  Parnell  and  Sir  Michael  Hicks- 
Beach,  I  think  it  no  part  of  my  duty  to  interfere. 
[Lord  Randolph  Churchill  —  "  Hear,  Hear !  "]  I  shall 
avoid,  in  the  discussion  of  this  question,  as  far  as  I 
can,  all  matters  of  a  purely  polemical  character  be- 
tween party  and  party.  I  presume  the  subject  will  be 
carried  further.  [Parnellite  cheers.]  I  understand  a 
distinct  allegation  to  be  made  by  Mr.  Parnell  in  regard 
to  some  person,  whose  name  he  has  not  given,  one  of  a 
limited  body  in  that  limited  body.  I  conclude  it  will 
not  be  difficult  to  procure  if  it  can  be  given  a  denial. 
I  presume  a  distinct  allegation  has  been  made  in  regard 
to  some  person,  whose  name  he  does  not  give.  This 
will  open  out  a  matter  of  public  interest;  and  the  gen- 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  261 

tlemen  opposite  will  do  me  the  justice  to  admit  that 
I  have  not  sought  before  taking  office  to  make  an 
attack  on  the  conduct  they  pursue.  If  they  do  not 
like  to  do  me  justice,  I  shall  not  ask  it.  Mr.  Beach 
began  by  stating  in  series  what  he  succinctly  described 
as  simple  facts.  I  will  not  say  that  his  simple  facts 
are  pure  fiction.  But  Mr.  Beach  declares,  though  I  do 
not  see  that  it  has  much  to  do  with  the  matter,  that 
this  is  the  bill  of  one  man.  Well,  I  am  amazed  to 
hear  my  opponents  speak  as  if  they  had  been  at  my 
elbow  all  day  every  day  throughout  the  winter. 
[Cheers.]  Mr.  Chamberlain  could  only  speak  within 
the  compass  of  his  knowledge,  and  if  he  said  it  was  a 
bill  of  one  man,  he  would  know  no  more  about  it  than 
a  member  opposite.  But,  sir,  long  before  that  time 
the  leading  details  of  the  bill  had  been  a  matter  of 
anxious  consideration  between  Die  and  my  nearest 
political  friends.  The  noble  lord's  arithmetic  is  still 
more  defective.  A  party  of  three  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-five is,  I  apprehend,  by  eighty-five  votes  larger  than 
a  party  of  two  hundred  and  fifty.  [Renewed  laugh- 
ter.] Then  the  right  honorable  gentleman  says  that, 
excepting  one  point,  the  customs  and  excise  duties, 
no  change  was  made  in  the  bill  after  it  was  first  sub- 
mitted to  the  cabinet.  He  has  no  means  of  knowing 
that,  if  it  were  true,  and  it  happens  to  be  entirely  un- 
true. [Loud  laughter.]  This  is  a  matter  of  great 
importance,  though  it  is  one  that  has  never  been  seen 
by  Mr.  Chamberlain.  Mr.  Chamberlain  took  exception 
to  certain  provisions  of  the  bill,  without  being  ac- 
quainted with  the  whole  case.  That  is  a  fact.  Mr.  Beach 
is  entirely  wrong  also  in  this  one  of  his  simple  facts. 
Then,  Mr.  Beach  says  that  I  announced  to  the  House 


262  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

that  the  bill  was  not  to  be  reconstructed.  I  said  noth- 
ing of  the  kind.  [Cries  of  "  Oh,  oh,"  and  cheers.]  I 
announced  that  I  had  not  promised  that  it  should  be 
reconstructed,  and  there  are  gentlemen  opposite  who 
think  it  a  matter  of  laughter  [cries  of  "  Oh,  Oh  "], 
who  see  no  distinction  between  promising  that  the  bill 
shall  not  be  reconstructed  and  not  having  promised 
that  it  shall  be  reconstructed.  [Laughter.]  A  person 
who  has  promised  that  a  bill  shall  be  reconstructed  is 
bound  to  reconstruct  it  [cheers] ;  and  is  that  true  ? 
[Liberal  cheers.]  A  person  who  has  not  promised  is 
free  to  reconstruct  it  without  promising.  [Cheers.] 
I  am  glad  to  see  that  the  laughter  of  the  opposition 
has  now  ceased.  [Cheers  and  laughter.]  Well,  sir,  I 
cannot  help  observing  that  I  was  struck  with  an  obser- 
vation of  Mr.  Beach.  He  says  the  bill  will  be  rejected, 
whatever  else  happens,  by  the  votes  of  a  majority  of 
the  English  and  Scotch  members.  [Opposition  cheers.] 
Well,  Sir  Michael  talks  about  dissolution,  and  I  am 
glad  to  find  that  upon  that  point  he  and  I  are  more 
nearly  associated  than  upon  almost  any  other  point  of 
this  controversy.  [Loud  ministerial  cheers.]  After 
what  Mr.  Beach  has  said,  and  the  acquaintance  he  has 
shown  with  the  history  of  the  bill,  and  after  all  that 
was  said  by  Mr.  Goschen,  I  must  again  refer  to  the 
exact  position  in  which  some  of  the  members  stand 
with  regard  to  the  bill.  In  the  first  place,  I  take 
it  to  be  absolutely  beyond  dispute,  upon  broad,  high 
parliamentary  grounds,  that  that  which  is  to  be  voted 
upon  to-night  is  the  principle  of  the  bill  as  distinct 
from  the  particulars  of  the  bill.  [Cheers.]  What 
may  be  the  principle  of  the  bill  I  grant  that  I  have 
no   authority  to  determine;    but   it   is   our   duty  to 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  263 

give  our  own  construction  of  the  principle  of  the 
bill.  I  think  I  drew  a  confirmation  of  construction 
from  the  speech  of  Mr.  Beach,  because  he  himself 
said  that  this  was  a  bill  for  the  purpose  of  estab- 
lishing a  legislative  body  in  Ireland  for  the  man- 
agement of  Irish  affairs.  I  apprehend  it  to  be  beyond 
all  question  that  the  members  voting  for  the  principle 
of  the  bill  are  entirely  and  absolutely  free  [cheers]  ; 
and  that  if  they  think  there  is  any  set  of  provisions  by 
means  of  which  a  better  and  fuller  effect  may  be  given 
to  the  principle  of  the  bill,  they  are  at  liberty  to  dis- 
place all  the  details.  [Cheers.]  That  doesn't  admit 
of  doubt.  Well,  the  Government  have  taken  certain 
engagements.  They  have  taken  an  engagement  as  to 
taxation  for  the  intervention  of  the  Irish  members,  to 
the  terms  of  which  I  need  not  now  refer.  They  have 
also  broken  an  engagement  on  the  claim  of  Ireland  to 
continued  concern  through  her  members  in  t lie  treat- 
ment of  imperial  subjects  generally;  and  that  has 
entailed  a  positive  pledge  to  reconstruct,  if  we  do  not 
entirely  remove,  the  twenty-fourth  clause,  and  adopt 
other  consequential  amendments  connected  with  it. 
One  more  question  has  been  raised  with  respect  to 
other  amendments  to  the  bill.  Of  course,  as  to  the 
freedom  of  members  to  suggest  other  amendments,  I 
say  nothing  ;  but  in  reference  to  our  duty  there  can  be 
no  question  at  all  that  our  duty,  if  an  interval  is 
granted  us,  if  the  circumstances  of  the  present  session 
require  the  withdrawal  of  the  bill,  if  it  is  to  be  re- 
introduced with  amendments  at  an  early  date  in  the 
autumn,  of  course  it  is  our  duty  to  amend  our  bill  with 
every  real  amendment,  every  real  improvement,  with 
whatever  is  calculated  to  make  it  more  effective  and 


264  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

acceptable.  [Cheers.]  For  the  attainment  of  its  end 
we  are  perfectly  free  to  deal  with  them ;  but  it  would 
be  the  meanest,  basest  act  on  the  part  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  pretend  that  they  have  a  plan  of  reconstruc- 
tion ready  beforehand,  cut  and  dried  in  their  minds, 
at  a  time  when,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  cause,  it 
must  be  obvious  that  it  is  perfectly  clear  there  can  be 
no  such  thing,  sir.  [Cheers.]  So  much,  then,  for  the 
system  and  freedom  of  the  members  opposed  to  the 
bill.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Government  to  consider 
their  amendments  and  do  everything  they  can  with  a 
view  to  a  fuller  and  better  application  of  the  bill,  and 
to  add  to  those  fine  grounds  which  have  on  a  former 
occasion  been  so  clearly  explained,  and  from  which 
there  is  no  intention  in  any  sense  to  recede.  Mr. 
Beach  has  said  that  the  question  of  Ulster  is  a  question 
of  principle.  But  I  must  say  that,  with  regard  to  the 
sentiments  we  have  heard  expressed  on  the  subject,  I 
cannot  say  that  any  plan  for  the  treatment  of  Ulster 
has  made  any  serious  or  practical  effect  upon  Major 
Saunderson,  who  is  supposed  to  favor  the  separation 
of  Ulster  from  the  rest  of  Ireland.  [Cheers.]  I  must 
say  that  Mr.  Parnell  has  entered  into  a  careful  and 
elaborate  argument  on  the  subject  of  "  Ulster  land," 
dealing  with  her  as  a  separate  part  of  Ireland  in  the 
course  of  this  evening's  debate,  and  I  must  say  that 
that  was  a  statement  which  requires  an  answer. 
[Cheers.] 

Now,  sir,  I  want  to  say  one  word  on  the  subject  of 
Irish  loyalists,  and  in  debates  of  this  kind  we  have  at 
times  to  use  words  and  expressions  that  it  is  well 
should  be  a  little  better  understood  than  they  are. 
When  I  hear  a  speech  from  Mr.  Johnston,  and  some 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  265 

others,  it  always  appears  to  me  that  he  is  under  the 
pious  conviction  that  loyalty  is  innate  in  Irish  Protes- 
tants, and  disloyalty  innate  in  some  other  persons. 
[Laughter.]  I  do  believe  that  Mr.  Johnston  is  under 
the  impression  that  in  all  times  in  long  generations  of 
Irish  history  there  has  been  this  difference  between 
persons  who  are  Protestants  and  those  who  are  not 
Protestants.  [Cheers.]  No ;  well,  it  is  a  charge  which 
has  been  made,  and  ought  to  be  met.  Has  Mr.  John- 
ston inquired  what  was  the  state  of  loyalty  in  Ireland 
at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century?  As  regards 
Roman  Catholics,  they  had  then  hardly  been  born  into 
political  life.  In  his  time,  Dean  Swift  spoke  of  their 
incapacity  for  politics,  and  it  would  be  absurd  to  speak 
of  them  then  as  being  cither  loyal  or  disloyal.  But  as 
to  the  condition  of  Catholics  at  the  close  of  the  last 
century,  I  will  read  what  Burke  has  said  on  the  sub- 
ject. The  date  of  it  is  1796.  It  is  taken  from  a  letter 
to  Wyndham.  He  speaks  on  the  subject  of  disaffec- 
tion, and  writes  thus:  "Disaffection  has  cast  deep 
roots  in  the  principles  and  habits  of  the  majority  of  the 
lower  and  middle  classes  of  the  whole  Protestant  part 
of  Ireland.  [Parnellite  laughter.]  The  Catholics  who 
are  intermingled  with  them  are  more  or  less  tainted." 
What  has  happened  since  the  Protestants,  not  having 
grievances  to  complain  of,  became  loyal,  provoked,  as 
all  men  easily  may  be,  out  of  their  principles.  These 
are  words  and  ideas  which  show  what  is  the  way  in 
which  we  are  to  promote  loyalty,  and  what  is  the  way 
in  which  we  can  destroy  it. 

Another  subject  upon  which  I  will  only  dwell  for  a 
moment  is  that  of  federation.  Many  gentlemen  in 
the  House  are  greatly  enamored  of  this  idea,  and  the 


266  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

object  they  have  in  view  is  a  noble  one.  I  will  not 
admit  to  Mr.  Beach  the  justice  of  the  disparagement 
he  casts  upon  the  British  empire.  I  do  not  consider 
that  she  is  a  loosely  compacted  empire ;  but  I  admit 
that  if  means  can  be  devised  for  establishing  a  more 
active  connection  with  our  distant  possessions,  that  is 
an  object  well  worthy  of  every  noble,  enlightened 
man.  It  is  a  popular  idea.  I  gave  no  opinion  upon 
it.  I  suspect  it  is  beset  with  more  difficulties  than 
have  yet  been  examined  and  brought  to  light.  But 
what  I  wish  to  observe,  as  far  as  this  bill  is  concerned, 
is  that  this  bill,  whatever  its  rights  or  wrongs  in  other 
respects,  is  unquestionably  a  step,  and  an  important 
step,  in  the  direction  of  federation.  [Cheers.]  The 
balance  of  authority  seems  to  have  established  clearly 
the  elementary  proposition  that  whether  this  Parlia- 
ment be  the  imperial  Parliament  or  not  the  imperial 
Parliament,  it  is  possessed,  now  as  before  the  union 
and  before  the  time  of  Grattan's  Parliament,  of  a 
supremacy  which  is  absolute,  and,  in  the  nature  of 
things,  inalienable.  It  could  not  part  with  it  if  it 
would,  and  it  would  not  if  it  could.  [Cheers.]  It  is 
quite  true  that  in  constituting  a  Legislature  in  Ireland 
we  do  as  we  did  when  we  constituted  a  Legislature  in 
Canada  and  Australia,  namely,  devolve  an  important 
portion  of  power.  We  devolved  it  with  the  view  in 
Canada,  and  I  hope  we  shall  do  it  in  Ireland,  not  to 
establish  a  partial  and  a  nominal,  but  a  real  and  prac- 
tical independent  management  of  her  own  affairs. 
[Cheers.]  That  is  the  right  which  our  opponents  ob- 
ject to,  and  that  is  the  thing  we  desire,  and  hope,  and 
mean  to  do.  It  is  obvious  that  the  question  may  be 
raised,  How  do  you  propose  to  deal  with  questions  that 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  267 

may  arise,  when  the  Imperial  Government,  notwith- 
standing this  general  division  of  affairs,  may  be  by  the 
obligations  of  imperial  rulers  compelled  to  intervene  ? 
Well,  my  answer  is  that  this  question  has  received  a 
far  better  solution  from  practical  politics,  from  the 
experience  of  the  last  forty  or  fifty  years,  than  would 
ever  have  been  given  to  it  by  the  definitions  of  a 
lawyer,  however  eminent.  When  the  Canadian  Legis- 
lature was  founded,  this  difficulty  arose.  The  question 
arose  regarding  the  Canadian  rebellion,  and  I  myself 
and  Lord  Brougham  were  of  the  opinion,  I  know  not 
whether  we  were  right  or  wrong,  that  the  honor  of 
the  Crown  had  been  invaded  by  a  proposition  to  grant 
in  Canada  a  vote  for  losses  in  the  rebellion,  to  those 
who  had  been  rebels  and  had  incurred  these  losses  as 
rebels.  Lord  Brougham  made  a  motion  in  the  House 
of  Lords  in  1849,  and  I  made  a  motion  in  the  House 
of  Commons  on  the  same  subject.  The  important 
part  of  the  debate  consisted  in  the  declarations  drawn 
from  the  ministers  of  the  Crown,  and  Lord  John  Rus- 
sell then  laid  down  what  I  conceive  to  be  a  live  and 
sound  doctrine,  in  terms  which  I  believe  may  be  fairly 
described  as  authoritative,  on  the  manner  of  dealing 
with  this  question.  You  will,  however,  allow  me  to 
read  the  passage,  which  is  not  a  long  one.  Speaking 
in  this  House  on  the  14th  of  June,  1849,  Lord  Russell 
said,  "  I  entirely  agree  with  the  right  honorable  gen- 
tleman. It  is,  indeed,  in  conformity  with  the  senti- 
ments I  expressed  in  a  despatch  I  wrote  a  few  years 
ago,  that  there  are  cases  which  must  be  left  to  the 
decision  of  the  responsible  ministers  of  the  Crown. 
There  are  cases  where  the  honor  of  the  Crown  and  the 
safety  of  the  country  are  concerned,  and  in  such  cases 


268  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

it  requires  the  utmost  temper  in  the  colonies,  and  the 
utmost  temper  and  firmness  in  this  country.  I  fully 
admit  that  there  are  such  cases.  When  the  right 
honorable  gentleman  goes  on  to  say  that  Earl  Elgin 
has  received  some  instructions  from  the  Government 
of  this  country,  by  which  he  is  debarred  from  asking 
the  advice  and  direction  of  the  Crown  on  questions 
that  affect  the  imperial  policy  and  national  honor,  he 
is  entirely  mistaken  in  that  assumption."  That  justly 
and  practically  sets  forth  the  practical  mode  in  which 
this  question,  difficult  in  the  abstract,  will  be  settled 
as  it  has  been  settled.  We  have  found  it  easy  to  rec- 
oncile the  rights  of  Canada  with  the  rights  of  the 
Imperial  Parliament.  It  will  be  found  not  more  diffi- 
cult to  reconcile  the  rights  of  Ireland  with  those  of 
the  Imperial  Government.  Constantly  I  hear  the 
words  "  unionists  "  and  "  separatists,"  but  what  I  want 
to  know  is,  who  are  the  unionists?  [Cheers.]  And 
who  are  the  separatists  ?  I  see  this  bill  in  newspapers 
of  great  circulation,  and  elsewhere,  described  as  the 
"separation  bill."  [Cheers.]  Members  of  the  oppo- 
sition adopt  that  style  and  make  the  description  their 
own.  I  take  no  notice  of  these  cheers.  I  speak  of 
other  quarters  out  of  doors.  Speaking  of  this  descrip- 
tion alone,  I  say  it  is  the  merest  slang  of  vulgar  con- 
troversy. [Cheers.]  You  think  this  bill  tends  to 
separation,  ^our  argument  and  even  your  prejudices 
are  worthy  of  all  consideration  and  respect.  But  is  it 
a  fair,  rational  mode  of  conducting  a  controversy  to 
attach  these  hard  names  to  measures  on  which  we 
differ,  on  which  we  argue,  and  desire  to  convince  by 
argument.  I  will  illustrate  what  I  mean.  I  will  go 
back  to  the  time  of  Lord  Grey's  Reform  Act.     When 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  269 

that  bill  was  introduced,  it  was  honestly  believed  by 
the  great  masses  of  intelligent  men  that  the  bill  abso- 
lutely involved  the  destruction  of  the  monarchy.  The 
Duke  of  Wellington  propounded  a  doctrine  very  much 
to  that  effect,  but  I  doubt  if  any  one  of  these  gentlemen 
or  the  newspapers  that  supported  them,  ever  descended 
so  low  in  the  weapon  of  their  warfare  as  to  brand  it 
"  the  monarchy  destruction  bill."  [Cheers.]  This  is 
begging  the  question.  I  might  make  a  very  large  de- 
mand on  your  patience  and  indulgence,  for  we  con- 
sciously think  there  are  unionists  and  disunionists,  but 
we  conscientiously  think  our  conduct  tends  to  union. 
[Cheers  and  laughter.]  This  involves  a  very  large 
and  deep  historical  question.  Let  us  try  for  a  few 
minutes  to  look  at  it  historically.  The  arguments 
made  from  the  other  side  appear  to  me  to  rest  in  their 
principle,  in  the  main,  upon  two  suppositions,  one  the 
idea  of  the  profound  original  depravity  or  incompe- 
tence of  the  Irish  people.  But  there  is  another;  it  is 
the  conscientious  conviction  of  the  gentlemen  opposite, 
that  when  two  countries,  associated  but  not  incorpor- 
ated with  each  other,  are  in  disturbed  relations  with 
each  other,  the  remedy  is  to  create  an  absolute  legisla- 
tive incorporation.  That,  I  believe,  is  the  doctrine  on 
their  side  of  the  House,  and  they  believe  the  dissolu- 
tion of  such  incorporations  is  clearly  the  move  to 
bring  about  a  dissolution  of  the  political  relations  be- 
tween these  two  countries.  [Opposition  cheers.]  I 
do  not  deny  that  where  there  is  a  legislative  incorpor- 
ation under  the  same  crown,  where  that  crown  is 
absolute,  such  a  dissolution  may  be  the  means  of  con- 
stituting a  great  country,  as  it  was  in  the  case  of 
France.     But   what  I  say  is  that  the  true  belief,  as 


270  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

proved  by  history,  is  this,  that  when  there  are  dis- 
turbed relations  between  countries  that  are  politically 
associated,  but  not  incorporated,  the  real  remedy  is  to 
make  provision  for  civil  independence  subject  to  im- 
perial unity.  [Cheers.]  Gentlemen  spoke  of  tighten- 
ing the  tie  between  this  country  and  Ireland,  but 
tightening  is  not  always  the  way  to  make  it  binding ; 
relaxing  it  is  often  the  way  to  make  it  stronger  and 
make  it  stand  a  stronger  strain.  [Cheers.]  It  is  true, 
as  was  said  by  Mr.  Cowen,  that  the  severance  of  legis- 
latures has  often  been  the  union  of  countries,  and  the 
union  of  legislatures  the  severance  of  countries. 
[Cheers.]  Can  you  give  me  a  single  instance,  from  all 
your  historical  inquiries  —  and  I  wish  they  had  been 
wider — where  an  acknowledgment  of  local  self-gov- 
ernment has  been  followed  by  the  severance  of  coun- 
tries? [A  voice  —  "Turkey."]  I  was  just  going  to 
refer  to  Servia,  and  admit  that  where  a  third  power  has 
intervened,  and  given  liberty  to  the  subordinate  state 
in  defiance  of  the  superior  power,  I  make  no  claim  ;  and 
if  you  are  to  wait  till  a  third  power  intervenes  in  the 
case  of  Ireland  [government  and  Parnellite  cheers] 
as  they  intervened  in  the  case  of  America, — 

Mr.  Ashmead  Bartlett  —  We  are  not  afraid. 

Mr.  Gladstone  —  I  never  asked  the  member  whether 
he  was  afraid.  [Laughter.]  It  does  not  matter  very 
much  whether  he  is  or  not.  [Renewed  laughter.]  I 
should  like  him,  however,  to  cultivate  a  little  of  that 
early  and  provident  fear  which,  in  the  language  of 
Burke,  is  the  "  mother  of  safety."  I  admit  that,  in 
cases  such  as  when  France  and  Spain  interfered  in  the 
case  of  America,  you  can  expect  nothing  but  severance, 
and   severance   with   hostile   feelings   on    both    sides. 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  271 

["  Hear,  Hear."]  But  that  is  not  the  case  before  us. 
I  ask,  for  instance,  where,  apart  from  the  intervention 
by  force  of  a  third  power,  the  acknowledgment  of 
local  independence  has  been  followed  by  severance  ? 
[Cheers.]  I  am  in  the  recollection  of  every  one,  and 
I  will  show  where  severance  did  follow.  In  the  case 
of  Belgium  and  Holland,  the  attempts  to  make  the 
Belgians  conform  to  the  ways,  conditions,  and  institu- 
tions of  Holland  led  to  the  severance.  In  the  case  of 
Denmark  and  the  duchies,  attempts  to  do  what  the 
gentlemen  opposite  wish  to  do  in  Ireland,  namely,  to. 
force  Danish  institutions  and  ideas  upon  the  duchies, 
together  with  an  insufficient  acknowledgment  of 
their  ancient  institutions,  ended  in  the  total  loss  of 
the  duchies  to  Denmark.  They  are  now  severed,  and 
incorporated  in  another  political  connection.  But  let 
us  not  look  simply  at  the  negative  side.  Where  local 
independence  has  been  acknowledged  and  legislative 
severance  given,  in  a  number  of  cases  it  has  been 
made  practicable  to  hold  countries  together  which 
would  not  have  been  so  held.  The  honorable  mem- 
ber opposite  has  imprudently  interrupted  me  by  call- 
ing out  " Turkey."  I  will  tell  him  that  in  the  < 
of    Turkey,  with   its    imperfect   organization,   where 

there  has  not  been  a  violent  interference  and  the 
matter  has  not  been  driven  to  the  point  of  foreign 
interference,  local  autonomy  has  been  tried,  with  the 
best  effects.  In  the  case  of  Crete,  which  nearly  twenty 
years  appeared  lost  to  Turkey,  the  lessening  of  the 
ties  at  Constantinople  has  immensely  improved  the  re- 
lations between  the  two.  There  is  no  renewal  of 
rebellion. 

Churchill  —  There  is  a  chronic  revolution. 


272  C.    S.    PARXELL,    M.    P. 

Gladstone  —  Chronic  revolution  !  Give  me  a  test 
of  chronic  revolution.  Has  Crete  paid  its  tribute? 
Has  it  called  for  the  armed  forces  of  Turkey  to  put 
down  revolution  ?  [Cries  of  "  Yes  "  and  "  Order."] 
I  will  take  another  case.  Take  Lebanon.  About 
twenty-three  or  twenty-four  years  ago,  Lebanon  was 
in  a  state  of  chronic  revolution  under  the  absolute 
sway  of  Constantinople.  It  was  then  placed  under  a 
system  of  practically  local  independence,  and  from 
that  day  to  this  it  has  never  resumed  its  former  con- 
dition. Still  more  remarkable  is  the  case  of  the  island 
of  Samos.  It  has  enjoyed  for  a  long  time  complete 
autonomy  and  is  now  in  a  state  of  attachment  to  the 
Turkish  Empire,  while  contentment  with  any  politi- 
cal ties  subsists  and  holds  that  country  in  tranquillity 
[cheers],  so  that  even  Turkey  bears  testimony  to  the 
principle  of  which  I  speak.  There  are  numbers  of 
other  instances.  There  are  Norway  and  Sweden. 
This  is  most  remarkable  because  those  are  two  countries 
which  are  completely  separated,  and  yet  a  connection 
or  union  has  been  found  practicable  only  by  means  of 
the  largest  autonomy  and  independence.  The  case  of 
Denmark  and  Iceland  [Opposition  laughter]  —  Laugh- 
ter is  a  very  common  weapon,  and  it  is  very  difficult 
for  me  to  contend  with  it.  If  it  had  been  twenty  or 
thirty  or  forty  years  ago,  I  could  have  contended  with 
this  interruption  more  easily.  [Loud  cheers.]  If,  as 
has  been  said,  the  Parliament  of  Iceland  has  been  dis- 
solved, it  has  been  dissolved  because  there  have  been 
difficulties  in  Iceland.  There  have  been  difficulties 
between  the  Parliament  of  Iceland  and  the  Crown  of 
Denmark,  but  the  Crown  of  Denmark  is,  unhappily,  in 
difficulties   with    the    legislative    body   of    Denmark. 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  273 

But  between  the  Legislature  of  Denmark  and  the 
Legislature  of  Iceland  there  has  been  no  difficulty 
whatever.  But  when  a  speaker  quoted  Iceland,  the 
gentlemen  on  the  opposite  side,  with  their  usual  mode 
of  rebuke,  laughed,  and  some  one,  I  think,  endeavoring 
to  dignify  the  laughter  with  an  idea,  called  out ;  "  Ice- 
land is  so  distant."  If  Iceland  is  so  distant,  I  appre- 
hend that  makes  it  a  great  deal  more  difficult  for 
Denmark  to  hold  her  down  by  force,  and  consequently 
much  more  necessary  for  Demark  to  choose  the  method 
best  in  itself  for  securing  order.  But  if  you  object 
on  account  of  distance,  what  do  you  say  of  the  case 
of  Finland?  Is  Finland  distant  from  Russia?  Are 
you  aware  that  the  social  and  political  difficulties 
which  have  so  often  threatened  the  peace  of  Russia, 
and  been  fatal  to  the  life,  not  many  years  ago,  of  one 
of  the  worthiest  and  best  of  sovereigns,  had  no  pi 
in  Finland.  And  why?  Because  Finland  lias  a  per- 
fect autonomy  —  the  management  of  its  own  affairs, 
the  preservation  of  its  own  institutions,  which  has 
given  a  contentment  to  Finland  which  might  be 
envied  in  many  better  nations  and  most  famous  parts 
of  the  world.  I  must  say  a  word  regarding  the  case 
of  Canada,  because  it  is  so  remarkable;  because,  not- 
withstanding a  multitude  of  circumstantial  differences 
between  Canada  and  Great  Britain,  yet  still  the  resem- 
blances in  principle  are  so  profound,  so  significant. 

The  House  then  proceeded  to  a  division,  and 
the  motion  for  a  second  reading  was  rejected  by  a 
vote  of  341  against  311.  The  scene,  says  Mr. 
T.  P.  O'Connor,  was  one  of  the  most  intense 
excitement,  such  as  the  oldest  members  could  not 


274  C.    S.    PATtNELL,    M.    P. 

remember  to  have  witnessed  before.  The  Tory- 
Whig-Radical  coalition  frantically  waved  their 
hats  and  handkerchiefs  and  jumped  upon  the 
benches,  shouting  and  gesticulating  wildly.  The 
Nationalists,  after  a  pause,  followed  their  example 
and  gave  three  rousing  cheers  for  "  the  Grand  Old 
Man,"  and  a  succession  of  unearthly  groans  and 
shouts  of  "Judas"  for  Chamberlain,  which  were 
taken  up  and  repeated  as  the  news  spread  like 
wildfire  through  the  lobbies  and  halls  to  the  out- 
side, where  an  immense  multitude  had  gathered, 
awaiting  the  announcement  of  the  vote.  Among 
the  crowds  were  great  numbers  of  Irish  from  all 
parts  of  the  country  in  a  condition  of  irrepressible 
excitement.  Mr.  Gladstone  and  Mr.  Parnell  sat 
quiet  and  composed  through  all  the  clamor,  as 
though  they  had  fully  expected  the  defeat  as  the 
first  step  in  a  long  and  arduous  struggle,  and  were 
perfectly  prepared  for  the  renewal  of  the  contest 
at  the  proper  moment.  When  the  noise  had  sub- 
sided somewhat,  Mr.  Gladstone  arose  and  moved 
an  adjournment  of  the  House  until  the  10th,  to 
enable  the  ministers  to  decide  upon  their  future 
action.  So  ended  the  first  real,  honest  effort  ever 
made  by  an  English  statesman  for  a  comprehensive 
redress  of  Ireland's  grievances. 

To  the  Parnellites  and  to  Irishmen  generally 
the  vote  of  the  7th  of  June,  1886,  will  ever 
be  memorable,  for,  although  adverse,  it  was  still 
fraught   with   the   brightest   auguries   for    future 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  275 

success.  Indeed,  they  regarded  the  large  vote  for 
the  bill  as  a  triumphant  vindication  of  the  moral 
question  raised  by  Mr.  Gladstone,  and  they  saw 
good  cause  for  elation  in  the  fact  that  two  hundred 
and  twenty-five  representatives  of  the  brain  and 
conscience  of  Great  Britain  had  declared  them- 
selves in  favor  of  the  restoration  to  the  Irish 
nation  of  the  native  Parliament  of  which  it  had 
been  despoiled  by  the  Act  of  Union.  They  had 
lost  the  victory  of  the  moment,  it  is  true,  but  the 
victory  of  the  future,  broader  and  grander,  had 
been  assured  to  them  by  the  defeat. 

The  result  of  the  division  may  be  briefly 
resolved  into  this  :  It  delayed  the  concession,  but 
re-established  the  principle  of  Irish  nationality  — 
it  defeated  Mr.  Gladstone's  measure,  but  made 
Home  Rule  for  Ireland  inevitable. 

During  the  short  recess  of  the  House  an  inter- 
esting controversy  occurred  between  Mr.  Parnell 
and  Lord  Carnarvon.  In  his  great  speech  Mr. 
Parnell  had  stated  that  overtures  had  been  made 
to  him  by  a  member  of  the  late  Tory  govern- 
ment relating  to  the  establishment  of  a  Parlia- 
ment in  Dublin,  invested  with  power  to  protect 
Irish  industries.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Sir 
Michael  Hicks-Beach  denied  the  truth  of  this 
statement  and  demanded  the  name  of  the  minister, 
which  demand  elicited  from  Mr.  Parnell  the  reply 
that  he  would  be  glad  to  name  the  gentleman 
when  he  received  permission  from  him  to  do  so. 


276  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P. 

It  seems  that  Lord  Carnarvon  was  the  minister  in 
question,  and  he  took  occasion  to  absolve  the 
Irish  leader  from  the  obligations  of  secrecy  in  a 
speech  which  he  made  in  the  House  of  Lords 
shortly  after  the  Home  Kule  debate.  In  this 
speech  he  admitted  that  he  had  an  interview  with 
Parnell,  but  he  claimed  that  Parnell  had  sought 
the  interview,  and  that  he,  at  the  outset,  had  given 
Mr.  Parnell  to  understand  distinctly  that  in  all 
he  said  he  was  speaking  only  in  his  personal 
capacity  and  not  as  a  minister  of  the  Crown. 

To  this  speech  Mr.  Parnell  replied  in  a  letter  to 
the  newspapers  giving  a  detailed  explanation  of 
all  the  circumstances  attending  the  interview,  as 
follows :  — 

Sir,  my  reference  in  the  House  of  Commons  on 
Monday,  explanatory  of  reasons  which  induced  passages 
in  my  speech  at  Wicklow  last  year  regarding  protec- 
tion, has  called  from  Lord  Carnarvon  a  lengthy  explan- 
ation regarding  my  interview  with  him  in  July,  as  to 
which  he  makes  certain  positive,  but  chiefly  a  series  of 
negative,  statements. 

It  will,  I  think,  be  now  generally  considered  desir- 
able that  some  positive  information  be  given  to  the 
public  regarding  details  of  that  interview,  that  defi- 
ciencies left  by  Lord  Carnarvon  should  be  supple- 
mented, and  that  I  should  say  how  far  my  recollection 
coincides  with  him. 

But  first  it  will  be  convenient  I  should  recall  to 
mind  reference  which  I  made  on  Monday  to  my 
Wicklow  speech  as  to  which  controversy,  at  first  with 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.    P.  277 

Sir  Michael  Hicks-Beach,  and  now  with  Lord  Carnar- 
von, has  arisen. 

It  was  as  follows :  That  speech  at  Wicklow  about 
protection  was  delivered  at  a  time  when  I  had  every 
reason  to  believe  that  the  Conservative  party,  if  they 
should  have  been  successful  at  the  polls,  would  have 
offered  Ireland  a  statutory  legislature  with  the  right 
to  protect  her  own  industries,  and  that  this  could  have 
been  coupled  with  a  settlement  of  the  land  question 
on  the  basis  of  purchase  on  a  larger  scale  than  that 
now  proposed  by  the  Prime  Minister. 

What  I  have  now  to  tell  concerning  the  interview 
of  July  will,  I  think,  be  held  to  fully  justify  that 
reference.  I  regret  that  I  am  obliged  to  commence 
the  recital  by  differing  with  Lord  Carnarvon  point- 
blank  as  to  a  matter  of  fact. 

He  says  in  his  explanation  that  towards  the  end  of 
last  July  it  was  intimated  to  him  that  if  he  were 
willing  I  should  also  be  willing  to  meet  him  in  con- 
versation ;  in  other  words,  that  I  sought  an  interview. 
Now,  this  I  positively  deny. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  meeting  was  brought  about 
by  an  intimation  being  conveyed  to  ^me  exactly 
converse  to  that  which  Lord  Carnarvon  alleges  was 
-conveyed  to  him  in  this  connection. 

I  may  mention  that  Lord  Carnarvon  originally 
proposed  that  I  should  meet  him  at  the  house  of  a 
gentleman  now  a  prominent  Conservative  member  of 
Parliament,  who  subsequently  undertook  a  mission  to 
Ireland  and  obtained  letters  of  introduction  to  several 
leading  members  of  the  Irish  parliamentary  party, 
with  whom  he  discussed  in  detail  the  species  of  Irish 
Parliament  that  would   be  acceptable  to  Ireland.     I 


278  C.    S.    PARNELL,  M.   P. 

declined,  however,  to  meet  Lord  Carnarvon  at  the  house 
of  a  stranger,  and  suggested  that  if  the  interview  was 
to  take  place  at  all,  it  had  best  be  at  his  own  residence. 

I  must  also  take  issue  regarding  the  correctness  of 
Lord  Carnarvon's  memory  as  to  two  of  the  three 
conditions  which  he  alleges  he  stated  to  me  as  the 
condition  upon  which  he  could  enter  into  any  conver- 
sation with  me,  namely,  that  first  of  all  he  was  acting 
of  himself,  by  himself,  and  that  the  responsibility  was 
his  and  communications  were  from  himself  alone; 
and,  secondly,  that  he  was  there  as  the  Queen's  servant, 
and  that  he  would  neither  hear  nor  say  one  word  that 
was  inconsistent  with  the  union  of  the  two  countries, 
and  that  I  assented  to  these  conditions. 

Now,  Lord  Carnarvon  did  not  lay  down  any  con- 
ditions whatever  as  a  preliminary  to  his  entering  into 
conversation  with  me.  It  must  be  manifest  that  if  he 
had  desired  to  do  so  he  would  have  intimated  them 
when  requesting  the  interview.  He  certainly  made  no 
use  whatever  of  terms  of  the  two  conditions  which  I 
have  repeated.  There  is,  however,  some  foundation 
for  his  statement  concerning  the  remaining  one,  inas- 
much as  he  undoubtedly  remarked  at  the  commence- 
ment that  he  hoped  I  would  understand  that  we  were 
not  engaged  in  making  any  treaty  or  bargain  whatever. 

Lord  Carnarvon  then  proceeded  to  say  that  he  had 
sought  this  interview  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining 
my  views  regarding  —  should  he  call  it  a  constitu- 
tion for  Ireland  ?  But  I  soon  found  that  he  had  brought 
me  there  in  order  that  he  might  communicate  his 
views  upon  this  matter,  as  well  as  ascertain  mine. 

I  readily  opened  my  mind  to  him  on  this  subject, 
and  in  reply  to  an  inquiry  as  to  a  proposal  which  had 


C.    S.   PARNELL,   M.    P.  279 

been  made  to  build  up  a  central  Legislature  upon  the 
foundation  of  county  boards  I  told  him  I  thought 
this  would  be  working  in  the  wrong  direction,  and 
would  not  be  accepted  as  a  settlement  by  Ireland ; 
that  a  central  legislative  body  should  be  a  Parlia- 
ment in  name  and  in  fact,  and  that  to  this  body 
should  be  left  the  construction  of  whatever  system  of 
local  government  for  the  counties  might  be  found 
necessary. 

Lord  Carnarvon  then  assured  me  that  this  was  his 
view  also,  and  that  he  strongly  appreciated  the  impor- 
tance of  giving  due  weight  to  the  sentiment  of  the 
Irish  in  this  matter.  He  then  inquired  whether,  in 
my  judgment,  some  plan  for  constituting  a  Parliament 
in  Dublin,  short  of  repeal  of  the  union,  might  not  be 
devised  and  prove  acceptable  to  Ireland ;  and  he 
made  certain  suggestions  to  this  end,  taking  the  co- 
lonial model  as  a  basis,  which  struck  me  as  being  the 
result  of  much  thought  and  knowledge  of  the  subject. 

Then  came  the  reference  to  protection.  We  were 
discussing  the  general  outlines  of  apian  for  constituting 
a  Legislature  for  Ireland  on  the  colonial  model,  when  I 
took  occasion  to  remark  that  protection  for  certain 
Irish  industries  against  English  and  foreign  compe- 
tition would  be  absolutely  necessary,  upon  which  Lord 
Carnarvon  said  :  "  I  entirely  agree  with  you,  but  what 
a  row  there  will  be  about  it  in  England  !  " 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  conversation,  which  lasted 
more  than  an  hour,  and  to  which  Lord  Carnarvon 
was  very  much  the  larger  contributor,  I  left  him, 
believing  that  I  was  in  complete  accord  with  him 
regarding  the  main  outlines  of  a  settlement  conferring 
a  Legislature  upon  Ireland. 


280  C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.   P. 

In  conversing  with  him  I  dealt  with  the  Lord- 
Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  who  was  responsible  for  the 
government  of  the  country.  I  could  not  suppose  that 
he  would  fail  to  impress  the  views  which  he  had 
disclosed  to  me  upon  the  cabinet,  and  I  have  strong 
reason  to  believe  that  he  did  so  impress  them,  and 
that  they  were  strongly  shared  in  by  more  than  one 
important  member  of  that  body,  and  strongly  opposed 
by  none. 

From  information  conveyed  to  me  by  those  who 
were  in  communication  with  Lord  Carnarvon  after  he 
went  to  Ireland,  I  have  also  ground  for  supposing  that 
he  continued  of  the  same  opinions  as  those  which 
he  expressed  to  me,  and  that  he  resigned  his  office 
because  of  our  failure  to  give  the  Conservative  party 
a  majority  at  the  polls,  and  opposition  overwhelming 
in  its  character  first  appeared  in  the  cabinet  to  his 
views. 

I  spoke  at  Wicklow  under  the  impression  of  my 
interview  with  Lord  Carnarvon.  I  acted  subsequently 
and  throughout  the  general  election  from  the  same 
motive,  largely  strengthened  as  I  was  by  subsequent 
information  from  other  sources.  I  leave  it  to  the 
public  to  judge  whether  I  was  warranted  in  those 
impressions  and  beliefs,  and  will  only  further  say  that 
history  will  not  tell  a  more  disgraceful  and  unscrupu- 
lous volte-face  than  that  executed  by  the  Tory  party 
last  January,  when  they  found  that  our  vote  was  not 
numerous  enough  to  keep  them  in  office.  I  feel  bound, 
however,  to  add  that  I  entirely  acquit  Lord  Carnarvon 
of  responsibility  for  the  tactics  of  his  own  party. 
Yours  obediently, 

Charles  Stewart  Parnell. 


C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.    P.  281 

This  brought  out  another  letter  from  Lord  Car- 
narvon, in  which  he  said  :  "  I  recollect  perfectly 
the  circumstances  of  the  interview  with  Mr.  Par- 
nell.  I  proposed  nothing.  Mr.  Parnell  did  the 
bulk  of  the  talking,  while  I  put  questions,  sug- 
gested difficulties,  and  raised  objections  for  him 
to  answer  or  explain.  He  dwelt  upon  the  charac- 
ter and  functions  of  a  central  Legislature,  the  ne- 
cessity of  developing  Irish  industries,  etc.  I 
remember  his  alluding  to  some  kind  of  protection 
as  necessary  to  promote  Irish  industries,  to  which 
I  replied  that,  whatever  my  individual  opinion 
might  be  in  regard  to  protection,  such  a  proposal 
must  arouse  great  objections  from  many  classes. 
I  regret  that  my  impression  was  so  different  from 
Mr.  Parnell's.  I  do  not  wish  to  impute  any  un- 
fairness to  him.  I  found  him  during  the  conver- 
sation frank  and  straightforward.  I  only  regret 
that  he  so  greatly  misunderstood  me.  I  must 
re-affirm  that  I  never  said  anything  on  these  sub- 
jects in  any  wise  committing  other-." 

Unfortunately  for  Lord  Carnarvon,  Mr.  Parnell 
had  convincing  corroborative  testimony  to  prove 
that  his  version  of  the  affair  was  the  true  one.  It 
was  through  Justin  McCarthy,  the  member  for 
Longford,  that  the  interview  was  arranged;  and 
that  gentleman,  in  a  letter  to  the  New  York 
Herald,  related  the  circumstances  as  follows  :  — 

As  the  parliamentary  battle  is  over  for  the  present, 
and  the  electoral  battle  is  not  yet  begun,  I  take  advan- 


282  C.    S.   PARNELL,   M.   P. 

tage  of  this  temporary  lull  to  tell  the  readers  of  the 
Herald  something  about  the  arrangement  between 
Lord  Carnarvon  and  Mr.  Parnell.  Mr.  Parnell  wrote 
to  the  papers  yesterday,  denying  that  it  was  he  who 
sought  the  interview  with  Lord  Carnarvon,  and  leav- 
ing it  to  be  understood  that  Lord  Carnarvon  had 
allowed  him  to  believe  that  he  (Carnarvon)  was 
speaking  on  behalf  of  his  Government.  I  wish  to  tell 
my  story.  About  the  end  of  last  June  or  the  begin- 
ning of  July,  the  Conservatives  having  just  come  into 
power,  a  Conservative  who  is  now,  but  was  not  then, 
in  the  House  of  Commons,  a  friend  of  Lord  Carnarvon 
and  mine,  told  me  that  Lord  Carnarvon  was  anxious 
to  be  put  in  communication  with  Parnell,  and  asked 
me  wrould  I  come  and  see  Carnarvon.  I  did  so,  as  I 
thought  it  wise  and  statesmanlike  of  Carnarvon,  as  the 
new  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  to  break  away  from  the 
stupid  old  track  of  his  predecessor,  and  take  counsel 
with  the  Irish  leaders.  I  had  a  long  conversation  with 
Carnarvon,  and  was  much  struck  with  the  boldness  and 
wisdom  of  his  views.  He  asked  me  to  explain  to  him 
my  views  and  the  views  of  Mr.  Parnell  as  to  the  nature 
of  Home  Rule.  I  did  so,  dwelling  especially  on  the  fact 
that  no  system  of  mere  local  boards  would  ever  satisfy 
the  Irish  people,  and  it  would  be  only  a  waste  of  time 
to  trouble  himself  about  any  such  scheme.  When  I 
had  explained  all  this  fully,  he  said  that,  speaking  for 
himself,  he  would  be  prepared  to  go  as  far  toward 
Home  Rule  as  Parnell  or  myself.  He  gave  me  to 
understand  there  were  difficulties  in  the  way  of  some 
of  his  colleagues  who  were  not  yet  educated  up  to  the 
mark,  but  I  certainly  understood  from  him  that  an 
endeavor  would  be  made  to  complete  their  education. 


C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.   P.  283 

We  had  a  long  talk  on  various  Irish  questions,  and 
I  promised  to  ask  Parnell  to  arrange  for  an  interview 
with  Carnarvon.  I  saw  Parnell,  and  told  him  my 
story.  The  whole  thing  was  entirely  new  to  him, 
but,  after  a  short  consideration,  he  determined  that  he 
would  see  Carnarvon.  I  wrote  to  Carnarvon,  who 
replied  suggesting  the  time  and  place  of  an  interview. 
The  place  suggested  was  the  house  of  the  friend  I 
have  just  mentioned,  in  one  of  the  great  fashionable 
West  End  squares.  Parnell  demurred,  and  said  that 
if  there  was  any  talk  to  be  made  about  all  this  here- 
after, he  could  not  consent  to  have  any  appearance  of 
mystery  and  secrecy  about  it,  and  if  he  was  to  meet 
Carnarvon  he  would  go  openly  to  Carnarvon's  own 
house.  To  this  Carnarvon  at  once  agreed,  and  the 
interview  took  place  in  one  of  Carnarvon's  town 
houses  at  the  West  End.  I  was  not  present,  and  only 
know  what  happened  there  from  what  Parnell  told 
me,  which  he  has  now  told  the  public.  My  story  is 
important  chiefly  because  it  gives  the  fullest  and 
flattest  contradiction  to  the  statement  which  I  regret 
to  think  Carnarvon  has  made,  that  Parnell  sought  the 
interview.  The  truth  is  that,  when  the  elections  came 
on  and  did  not  give  the  Tories  a  majority,  even  with 
our  help,  the  Conservative  government  were  afraid  to 
take  the  jump.  Carnarvon,  I  believe,  did  his  very 
best,  and,  failing,  resigned  his  office.  I  met  him  in 
December,  after  the  elections,  at  a  small  dinner  party, 
and  we  had  some  frank  and  friendly  conversation. 

He  gave  me  to  understand  that  nothing  was  to  be 
hoped  for  just  then  from  his  party.  He  certainly  did 
not  say  a  word  to  me  which  implied  that  through  the 
whole  transaction  he  had  been  acting  merely  for  him- 


284  C.   S.    DARNELL,   M.   P. 

self  alone.  The  whole  tenor  of  what  he  said  seemed 
to  imply  quite  the  contrary,  and  in  what  I  said  to  him 
I  took  this  as  a  matter  of  course.  I  have  not  the 
slightest  doubt  in  my  mind  that  up  to  the  late 
elections  the  leaders  of  the  Conservative  government 
were  taking  into  consideration  the  wisdom  of  prepar- 
ing a  Home  Rule  measure,  that  it  was  done  under 
the  inspiration  of  Carnarvon,  that  he  was  strongly 
supported  by  Lord  Randolph  Churchill  and  Lord 
Ashbourne,  then  the  Irish  Lord  Chancellor,  and  that 
Lord  Salisbury  was  beginning  to  see  his  way  in  it 
when  the  elections  knocked  all  their  calculations  to 
pieces.  If  he  could  have  said  to  their  party:  "We 
€an  give  Ireland  Home  Rule  and  keep  office  ourselves," 
then  the  education  of  the  party  would  have  been 
-easily  accomplished.  But  to  say :  "  We  can  prepare  a 
Home  Rule  scheme,  but  we  are  not  strong  enough 
to  carry  it  and  keep  in  office,"  is  quite  a  different 
thing. 

This  controversy  is  only  important  now  as  go- 
ing to  show  that  the  late  Tory  government  was 
willing  to  concede  to  Ireland  a  measure  of  Home 
Rule,  if  the  ministers  could  see  their  way  clear  to 
do  so  and  still  keep  office,  and  as  proving  that  the 
attitude  of  the  Tory  party  on  Mr.  Gladstone's 
measure  was  not  dictated  by  Tory  aversion  to  the 
principle  of  the  bill,  but  solely  by  party  reasons 
more  or  less  dishonest.  As  it  was,  Mr.  Parnell 
had  the  best  of  the  dispute,  and  the  cause  of  Ire- 
land profited  by  the  revelations. 

When  the  House  of  Commons  re-assembled,  on 


C.    S.   PARNELL,   M.    P.  285 

the  10th,  Mr.  Gladstone  announced  that  the  minis- 
try had  decided  to  appeal  to  the  constituencies, 
and  that  the  Queen  had  sanctioned  the  decision. 
No  date  was  set  for  the  dissolution,  but  the  Prime 
Minister  said  that  the  remaining  business  of  the 
session  would  be  wound  up  as  quickly  as  possible, 
and  the  event  would  doubtless  take  place  before 
the  end  of  the  month. 

Here,  on  the  eve  of  what  we  are  convinced  will 
prove  a  glorious  victory  for  Ireland,  we  are  com- 
pelled to  bring  this  history  to  a  close.  Mr. 
Parnell's  life-work  is  yet  far  from  complete  accom- 
plishment, but  its  progress  has  been  rapid  and 
gratifying,  and  every  day  that  elapses  makes  the 
final  triumph  more  certain.  Twelve  short  years 
ago  the  Irish  leader  was  absolutely  unknown  out- 
side of  a  small  circle  of  immediate  friends  in  Ire- 
land. Now  his  name  is  upon  every  lip,  and  his 
character  and  achievements  are  the  topics  of  gen- 
eral discussion  in  two  hemispheres.  Six  years  ago 
he  undertook  the  leadership  of  a  despised  agra- 
rian movement  which  it  was  predicted  would  go  to 
pieces  in  a  month  or  two.  lie  has  made  of  it  a 
power  which  overawes  the  mighty  British  Empire. 
All  the  vast  resources  of  England  were  arrayed 
against  him,  but  they  were  impotent  against  his 
sleepless,  tireless  determination  and  his  marvel- 
lous sagacity.  Neither  threats  nor  jails  could 
daunt  his  spirit,  or  break  his  indomitable  will. 
He  was  resolved  to  obtain  a  hearing  and  compel 


286  C.   S.    PARNELL,   M.   P. 

justice  to  Ireland,  and  nothing  could  sever  him 
from  his  purpose.  The  bitterest  invective  and  the 
most  enthusiastic  adulation  found  him  and  left  him 
perfectly  unmoved  —  as  stolid  and  impassive  as 
the  Iron  Duke  himself.  Such  great  abilities  and 
such  amazing  persistency  as  he  displayed  could 
not  for  long  go  unrecognized,  and,  years  ago  now, 
the  leaders  of  the  English  parties  had  begun  to 
respect  as  well  as  fear  him.  Mr.  Gladstone  said 
of  him  "  no  member  of  the  House  can  say  what 
he  has  to  say  more  clearly  or  in  fewer  words  than 
the  member  for  Cork."  Mr.  Labouchere  declares 
that  Cf  Parnell  is  one  of  the  very  best  tacticians 
that  I  know,"  and  Lord  Salisbury  has  pronounced 
him  to  be  "the  very  coolest  head  in  the  Three 
Kingdoms."  His  power  has  had  a  steady  and 
continual  growth :  the  despised  faction  which  he 
led  has  become  one  of  the  most  influential  parties 
in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  the  agitation  of 
which  he  is  the  respected  head  has  developed  into 
the  greatest  human  movement  of  the  age. 

And  now  at  last  his  indefatigable  energy,  his 
talents  for  organization,  his  wonderful  persever- 
ance under  difficulties,  his  broad  and  commanding 
qualities  as  a  statesman,  and  his  splendid  genius 
for  leadership  are  about  to  receive  an  adequate 
reward.  He  has  obtained  a  hearing  for  Ireland's 
case  and  coerced  England's  greatest  statesman  into 
an  effort  to  do  her  justice.  The  first  decision  was 
adverse,  it  is  true ;  but  the  defeat  was  a  Bunker 


C.    S.   PARNELL,    M.   P.  287 

Hill,  not  a  Waterloo.  The  public  opinion  of  the 
world  is  with  Ireland  and  Parnell,  and  Gladstone 
and  English  irrationality  cannot  long  prevail 
against  them.  Mr.  Gladstone  has  appealed  the 
case  from  the  prejudices  of  Parliament  to  the  high 
court  of  the  people,  and  he  looks  forward  confi- 
dently to  a  favorable  judgment  from  the  democ- 
racy of  England. 

But  whether  the  measure  be  passed  by  the  next 
Parliament  or  one  to  follow  it,  Home  Rule  for 
Ireland  is  now  assured,  —  even  Lord  Hartington 
admits  it,  —  and  the  long-suffering  Irish  race  can 
rejoice  in  the  prospect  of  once  again  possessing 
a  happy,  prosperous,  and  independent  country, 
with  a  government  w  broad-based  upon  the  peo- 
ple's will."  To  Mr,  Parnell  more  than  to  any 
other  man  —  for  he  has  had  no  rivals  in  his  leader- 
ship—  the  glorious  result  at  hand  is  due,  and 
Irishmen  everywhere  gladly  accord  to  him  the  full 
meed  of  honor,  and  gratitude,  and  affection,  which 
he  merits.  His  labors  and  his  genius  have  made 
the  emancipation  of  a  nation  possible,  and  "  built 
himself  an  everlasting  name." 


CHARLES  S.  PAKNELL. 


C.    S.    PARNELL,,    M.  P.  280 


APPENDIX. 


SOME   PARTICULARS   OP   C.  S.  PARNELL's   EA.RLT   LIFE. 

We  arc  indebted  to  Mrs.  Delia  Partial),  mother 
of  Charles  Stewart  Parnell,  for  the  following 
authentic  particulars  regarding  his  early  career, 
in  addition  to  those  which  will  be  found  on  an 
earlier  page  in  the  body  of  our  biographical 
sketch  :  — 

As  a  child  he  was  remarkable  for  wit,  poetical 
fancies,  sprightliness,  and  enterprise. 

At  the  age  of  seven,  on  the  outbreak  of  the  Cri- 
mean war,  in  1853,  he  amused  his  fellow-passen- 
gers in  the  Rathdrtim  stage,  on  his  way  home 
from  school,  by  comparing  the  populations  and 
military  strength  of  the  various  European  Powers, 
with  a  view  to  determining  their  respective 
chances  in  the  event  of  a  general  European  war. 
Some  of  the  passengers  remarked  that  the  little 
fellow  had  been  wonderfully  well  taught. 

In  alluding  to  his  early  taste  for  mechanical 
science  as  exhibited  in  his  efforts  to  construct  a 
"perpetual  motion"  machine,  Mrs.  Parnell  says: 
rSome  danger  attended  his  experiments  about 
perpetual  motion  ;  and  when  he  feared  an  explo- 


290  C.    S.    PAKNELL,   M.  P. 

sion  he  would  call  out  to  every  one  to  get  out  of 
the  room,  but  remain  in  it  near  his  machine  him- 
self." This  anecdote  of  the  boy  is  surely  charac- 
teristic of  the  man  ;  for  at  least  on  two  occasions 
during  the  land  agitation  in  the  West,  at  Balla 
aud  at  Castlerea,  when  there  was  imminent  pros- 
pect of  a  collision  between  the  armed  police  and 
the  unarmed  people,  he  displayed  a  like  personal 
intrepidity  and  a  similar  care  for  the  safety  of 
others,  flinging  himself  into  the  gap  of  danger, 
so  that  the  lives  of  the  people  should  not  be  im- 
perilled. 

Referring  to  his  daring  escapade  in  the  effort 
to  make  bullets  by  pouring  melted  lead  from  the 
roof  of  the  mansion  of  Avondale,  Mrs.  Parnell 
remarks :  "  It  was  a  great  undertaking  for  a 
small  boy  safely  to  lug  an  iron  pot,  such  as  po- 
tatoes are  boiled  in,  but  filled  with  hot  coals,  up 
two  high  pairs  of  stairs,  two  high  ladders,  the 
ascent  from  the  lead  valley  in  the  midst  of  the 
slated  roof  to  the  top  of  it,  and  down  to  the  coping 
around  the  roof.  To  this  day  his  enterprises  are 
vast,  but  with  this  advantage  now  —  that  the 
greatest  enterprises  have  the  greatest  opinions, 
the  greatest  masses,  and  the  greatest  natural  forces 
behind  them." 

Ampler  details  concerning  Mr.  ParnelPs  school 
life  than  we  were  able  to  give  previously  are  here 
appended :  "His  education,  after  having  been 
considerably  advanced  at  home,  was  continued,  at 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  291 

seven  years  of  age,  at  a  small  school,  Hiss  Marly's, 
in  Somersetshire,  England,  where,  while  eagerly 
and  advantageously  pursuing  his  studies,  he  fell 
ill,  and  lay  for  weeks  almost  at  the  point  of  death, 
through  typhoid  fever.  Since  then  he  has  never 
enjoyed  the  robust  health  of  his  childhood,  and 
the  illness  left  an  unnatural  nervous  irritability, 
which,  however,  he  has  conquered.  Soon  after 
this  illness  he  was  taken  back  to  Ireland,  and 
placed  under  a  private  tutor.  After  this  he  was 
sent  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Barton's,  in  Derbyshire, 
where  he  again  improved  greatly  under  the  care 
aifd  tuition  of  Mr.  and  Mis.  Barton,  both  of  them 
kind  and  superior  people.  Mrs.  Barton  belonged 
to  a  celebrated  literary  family.  "I  will  remark," 
says  Mrs.  Parnell,  "that  particular  pains  were 
taken  to  place  Charles  with  manifestly  kind  and 
religious  people.  Miss  Marly  was  especially  so. 
She  was  a  Dissenter.  After  his  father's  death 
Charles  was  kept  at  home  under  a  private  tutor, 
until,  at  Lady  Londonderry's  instance,  I  sent  him 
to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wishaw's,  in  Oxfordshire,  whence 
he  went  to  Cambridge.  Mr.  Wishaw  was  a  spec- 
ially kind,  highly  educated,  and  accomplished 
tutor.  All  my  son's  tutors,"  continues  Mrs.  Par- 
nell, "expressed  a  high  opinion  of  Charles'  abili- 
ties ;  and  the  tutors  of  my  three  sons  reposed  a 
peculiar  trust  in  their  honor  and  steadiness.  All 
three  have  been  remarkable  for  goodness  and  ten- 
derness of  feeling,  industry,  patience,  and  perse- 


292  0.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P. 

verance — attributes  remarkably  derived."  The 
reader  of  these  pages  will,  we  are  sure,  concur 
with  Mrs.  Parnell  in  deeming  those  attributes  "re- 
markably derived."  Few  men  had  ever  more  il- 
lustrious ancestry. 

We  get  a  pleasant  glimpse  of  Charles  Stewart 
ParnelPs  natural  generosity  of  disposition,  as  well 
as  of  the  warmth  of  Irish  feeling  which  kindly 
treatment  ever  evokes,  from  the  following:  — 
H  Charles  always  deprecated  any  lack  of  hospital- 
ity at  his  early  home,  wanting  every  man  and 
beast  that  came  to  it  to  be  entertained ;  and  I 
found,  while  I  was  a  widow,  that  tenants  and  i%- 
tainers  who  needed  it  while  travelling,  adopted 
my  house  as  a  home,  as  in  feudal  times,  while, 
such  was  the  devotion  of  the  people  on  our  place 
to  us,  I  thought  that  did  we  require  it  we  could 
raise  a  corps  of  defenders  among  them.  Nothing 
could  exceed  the  faithfulness  and  unselfishness  of 
our  employees." 

Another  pleasant  glimpse  —  one  of  family  life 
— is  afforded  in  the  appended  passage:  "My 
children  have  always  been  good  and  devoted  to 
one  another.  Charles,  ki  particular,  has  shown 
that  the  child  was  father  to  the  man ;  for  the 
energy  and  devotion  he  now  manifests  to  his 
country  —  to  those  who  need  a  mighty  help  —  are 
the  outgrowth  of  his  youthful  activity  and  consid- 
eration in  favor  of  his  family,  and  of  his  feeling, 
just  and   indulgent  judgments,  respect,  and  un- 


C.    S.    PARNELL,  M.  P.  293 

selfishness  towards  all  who  came  near  him.  In 
these  traits,  and  in  his  prudence,  he  resembles  his 
late  uncle,  my  devoted  brother,  Col.  Charles  Tudor 
Stewart,  who  was  perfect  as  a  son,  a  brother,  an 
uncle,  and  a  friend." 


II. 


FURTHER   PARTICULARS    CONCERNING   THE    PARNELL 
FAMILY. 

In  the  Freeman's  Journal  of  February  15,  1821, 
a  correspondent  who  signs  himself  fr  C.,"  and  dates 
from  "16  Parliament-street,  12th  February,  1821," 
writes  as  follows  of  Mr.  C.  S.  Parnell'a  grandfather, 
William  Parnell,  brother  of  Sir  Henry,  and  M.  P. 
for  county  Wieklow,  to  whom  but  a  passing  refer- 
ence was  made  in  a  previous  page  :  — 

M  Few  men  in  modern  times  excelled  the  late  William 
Parnell,  Esq.,  in  those  virtues  which  may  be  bene- 
ficiall}-  recorded.  Descended  from  an  illustrious  famih', 
he  obtained  his  first  literary  instructions  under  the 
superintendence  of  his  incorruptible  and  patriotic 
father  —  the  late  Sir  John  Parnell,  Bart.  Passing 
over  the  scenes  of  infancy  and  early  }'outh,  I  find  Mr. 
Parnell  a  distinguished  student  in  the  University  of 
Cambridge,  excelling  in  the  cultivation  of  the  liberal 
sciences,  unequalled  in  chaste  literature.  He  returned 
to  his  native  land  at  the  period  of  his  maturity.  The 
first  emotion  of  his  generous   and  exalted  mind  was 


294  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

sorrow  for  the  condition  of  his  country,  and  his  first 
desire  was  to  remedy  some  portion  of  her  manifold 
evils.  He  could  not  refer  to  the  situation  of  his 
Catholic  countiymen  in  any  other  terms  than  those  of 
shame  and  abhorrence  ;  neither  was  he  content  to  linger 
out  his  days  in  inactive  and  unprofitable  sympathy. 

u  In  1806  he  published  his  excellent  work  upon  the 
Penal  Code  affecting  the  Catholic  bod}r,  in  which  he 
reviewed,  with  boldness  and  brilliancy,  the  bad  policy 
of  past  ages,  and  was  the  first  to  trace,  in  a  manner 
becoming  an  efficient  statesman,  the  cruel  and  perni- 
cious ramifications  of  that  system. 

"  In  1807  he  sent  forth  his  'Apology  for  the  Irish 
Catholics,'  in  which  he  exhibited  in  vivid  colors  the  in- 
justice of  the  imputations  made  against  that  bod}r. 

"  He  continued  to  the  latest  period  of  his  life  the  same 
spirit  of  friendly  exertion,  in  and  out  of  the  senate, 
to  promote  their  claims,  and  had  nearly  completed 
an  invaluable  History  of  the  Irish  Roman  Catholics, 
enumerating  their  many  grievances  and  sufferings  from 
the  reign  of  Henry  the  Eighth  to  the  present  period. 

"The  poorer  classes  of  his  countrymen  were  the 
dearest  objects  of  his  anxious  and  earnest  solicitude. 
He  studied  their  wants  and  sustained  their  interests 
with  a  care  and  devotion  almost  chivalrous.  His  kind- 
ly heart  was  deeply  grieved  by  the  neglect  of  education 
to  which  the  peasantry  were  exposed,  and  his  earnest 
labors  were  daily  engaged  in  endeavors  to  alleviate 
the  evil. 

u  Every  attempt  to  educate  the  poor  could  claim  a 
participation  in  his  patronage  and  purse  ;  and  his  last 
effort  was  to  obtain  from  the  Government  a  grant  for 
the  education  of  the  Catholic  poor  on  principles  un- 


C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P.  295 

objectionable  in  theory  and  practical  in  application. 
He  found  there  were  objections  made  to  the  reading  of 
the  Testament  unaided  by  the  guidance  of  any  annota- 
tions ;  his  wish  was  to  serve,  and  not  offend,  and  ac- 
cordingly, in  the  true  spirit  of  his  comprehensive  liber- 
ality, he  published,  at  his  own  expense,  five  thousand 
copies  of  the  notes  approved  of  by  the  Roman  Catholic 
Archbishops  of  Ireland,  to  be  gratuitously  distributed 
with  the  New  Testament. 

u  His  forbearance  and  consideration  toward  his  nu- 
merous tenantry  obtained  a  return  of  attachment  the 
most  enviable  and  animated,  the  natural  result  of  the 
excellent  qualities  of  the  heart  that  render  the  relation 
of  landlord  and  tenant  a  reciprocal  blessing. 

11  Possessing  captivating  manners,  a  cultivated  mind, 
and  eminent  rank  and  connections,  his  society  was 
cherished  and  appreciated  by  the  most  exalted  ;  but 
his  desire  was  to  be  useful  rather  than  ornamental,  and 
he  manifested  the  sincerity  of  that  predilection  by  his 
deportment  through  life.  He  endured  the  most  severe 
of  human  afflictions  —  the  loss  of  a  beloved,  amiable, 
and  endearing  wife — with  the  resignation  that  be- 
came a  Christian,  but  with  a  sorrow  that  would  not  be 
discreditable  to  the  most  dignified  philosophy.  Indeed 
that  calamity  bore  heavily  upon  him  to  the  last ;  but 
his  parental  solicitude  was  only  increased,  if  possible, 
by  the  additional  duties  that  devolved  upon  him. 

11  He  was  a  good  man  in  all  his  courses ;  but  as  a 
father  he  excelled  almost  inimitably.  The  education 
of  his  children  occupied  a  principal  portion  of  his  time 
and  thoughts  ;  these  tender  orphans,  bearing  the  marks 
of  his  care,  now  furnish  living  proofs  of  the  excellent 
qualities  of  their  lamented  guide,  director,  and  parent. 


296  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

"On  Friday,  the  22nd  of  December,  1820,  he  had 
been  occupied  with  the  Eight  Honorable  Secretary  for 
Ireland,  in  procuring  through  him  a  grant  of  £3,000 
annual^,  to  be  vested  in  the  Roman  Catholic  bishops 
of  Ireland,  for  the  education  of  their  poor ;  and  that 
day,  on  which  he  had  completed  the  preliminaries  to 
carry  his  benevolent  design  into  effect,  having  proved 
unusually  wet,  he  caught  a  severe  cold  that  terminated 
in  a  malignant  fever.  He  died  at  the  house  of  his 
revered  and  distinguished  father-in-law,  Colonel  How- 
ard, on  the  2nd  of  January,  1824,  in  the  forty-fourth 
year  of  his  age,  being  ill  but  eleven  days. 

"  No  man  was  ever  withdrawn  from  the  busy  scene 
of  life  more  beloved,  revered,  and  esteemed  b}r  those 
who  were  favored  with  his  acquaintance  ;  and  few  have 
left  behind  them  more  acute  lamentations  for  the  de- 
parture of  generous  philanthropy  and  honored  worth. 
One  who  valued  him  in  life,  pays  this  inadequate  trib- 
ute to  his  memory." 

The  two  eldest  of  Mr.  C.  S.  Parnell's  brothers 
have  been  long  dead.  One,  William  Tudor  Par- 
nell,  fell  a  victim  to  bad  vaccination,  after  a  long 
struggle 9  in  his  infancy.  The  other,  Hayes  Par- 
nell,  was  a  most  promising  youth.  From  the  age 
of  six  or  thereabouts  he  evinced  tendencies  which 
afterwards  developed  into  remarkable  literary  and 
artistic  talent,  and  he  was  early  noted  for  patriot- 
ism. He  wrote  both  prose  and  poetry  well  while 
still  a  boy  ;  and  in  his  passion  for  military  and 
naval  life  was  wont  to  cover  sheets  of  paper  with 
original  battle-scenes,  and  with  plans  for  construct- 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  297 

ing  the  best  and  swiftest  ships.  When  he  wished 
to  ascertain  areas,  while  as  yet  he  was  ignorant  of 
the  very  name  of  Euclid,  he  drew,  for  the  sake 
of  accuracy,  problems  of  his  own  invention. 
Although  a  pleurisy  carried  him  off  at  so  youthful 
an  age  as  fifteen,  he  had  written  a  "History  of 
Ireland  as  she  is  to  be,"  in  which  he  introduced 
laws  of  his  own  framing  for  her  free  government. 
John  Howard  Parnell,  Mr.  C.  S.  Parnell's  elder 
living  brother,  who  was  a  Home  Rule  candidate 
for  the  representation  of  Wicklow  County  at  the 
general  election  of  1874,  has  attained  singular 
success  in  the  growing  of  peaches  on  his  land  in 
Alabama.  He  has  been  mentioned  in  agricultural 
periodicals,  especially  "for  having  obtained  by  his 
skill  the  best  and  largest  peaches  ever  grown. 
Their  size  is  almost  incredible. "  In  quality  they 
are  said  to  reach  perfection  ;  and  the  number  of 
them  Mr.  J.  II.  Parnell  annually  produces  is 
astonishing.  He  was  the  first  to  export  peaches 
in  good  condition  from  America  to  Ireland.  Of 
his  estate  in  the  county  Armagh  the  corporation 
of  Trinity  College  is  the  head  landlord.  Mrs. 
Parnell  describes  him  as  having  more  of  the  physi- 
cal strength  of  Sir  John  Parnell,  whom  he  is  said 
to  resemble,  than  her  other  sons ;  and  relates  of 
him  the  following  anecdote  :  — 

"  When  a  boy,  having  received  some  great  provoca- 
tion, but  unwilling  to  hurt  any  one  weaker  than  himself, 
he  seized  hold  of  a  heavy  mahogany  old-fashioned  arm- 


298  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

chair,  and  saying,  '  I  must  hurt  something/  smashed  it 
to  pieces  at  one  blow  on  the  floor."  She  sums  up  his 
character  by  saying  that  he  is  "  full  of  pity  and  kind- 
ness for  every  one." 

Mr.  C.  S.  Parnell's  younger  brother,  Henry 
Tudor  Parnell,  at  the  very  threshold  of  manhood 
gave  practical  effect  to  the  theory  of  peasant 
proprietorship  by  disposing  of  his  estate  to  those 
who  tilled  it.     Mrs.  Parnell  says  of  him  : 

"My  youngest  son,  always  a  hard  worker  and 
student,  and  delicately  honorable,  showed  extra- 
ordinary business  capacity,  immediately  on  com- 
ing of  age,  in  the  rearrangement  of  his  property 
and  its  sale  to  his  tenants."  The  name  of  the 
estate  thus  referred  to  is  Clonmore.  It  furnished 
the  courtesy  title  of  the  eldest  sons  of  the  Earls  of 
Wicklow. 


Ill 


ADDITIONAL   DETAILS   REGARDING   C.  S.  PARNELL  S 
MATERNAL   ANCESTRY. 

"My  grandfather,  Charles  Stewart,"  writes 
Mrs.  Parnell,  "quartered  the  royal  arms  of  Scot- 
land, which  were  on  a  large  quantity  of  family 
plate  he  brought  with  him  to  this  country ;  but 
at  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  when  the 
distress  in  this  infant  country  (the  United  States) 
was  extreme,  his  widow  —  who,  besides  being  of 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  299 

Milesian  origin,  was  still  further  revolutionized  in 
this  land,  and  being  by  his  death  freed  from  the 
influence  of  her  semi-Scotch  husband  and  of  the 
little  god  of  love  (more  potent  than  blood)  — 
melted  down  her  plate  to  help  suitably  to  rear  her 
eight  children,  which  was  a  matter  of  primary  im- 
portance. This  she  did  through  the  urgency  of 
her  son-in-law,  John  MacAuley,  father  of  Admiral 
MacAuley,  of  the  United  States  Navy.  She  was  a 
lady  of  excellent  education,  polished  manners,  su- 
perior beauty  of  face  and  figure,  and  strong  and 
unblemished  character.  All  her  children  pros- 
pered, through  her  kind  and  yet  severe  training. 
Soft  as  a  mother's  heart  is  to  her  manly  boys,  she 
did  not  hesitate  to  punish  them,  particularly  for 
the  least  breach  of  truth  or  chivalry. 

"Her  son  Charles  was  full  of  fun,  and  some- 
times of  mischief.  I  remember  his  telling  me 
how  severely  his  mother  punished  him  for  upset- 
ting the  stall  of  an  apple-woman  —  so  severely  that 
he  never  did  the  like  again.  I  remember  hearing 
that  when  his  dancing  master's  back  was  turned  he 
tvould  amuse  himself  pulling  out  the  peg  (the  ar- 
ticle used  in  those  days)  that  stopped  up  his  mas- 
ter's barrel  of  beer.  It  was  from  dancing  school 
he  ran  away  to  sea.  His  mother  did  not  contem- 
plate such  'steps'  on  his  part.  She  had  prom- 
ised his  father  on  his  death-bed  that  his  son  should 
never  embrace  a  sea-faring  life. 

"My  father  inherited  from  his  parents,  and,  as  I 


300  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

remember,  from  his  mother  certainly,  the  graco 
and  dignity  of  his  carriage  and  the  charm  of  his 
mariner  and  conversation.  I  remember  the  de- 
lightful stories  she  told  and  the  sweet  songs  she 
sang  at  ninety-three  and  later.  She  never  seemed 
old  in  any  respect.  Her  husband  must  have  been 
very  attractive  to  have  captivated,  when  so  much 
older  than  herself,  this  charming  beauty,  and  a 
reputed  heiress  of  fifteen.  She  blamed  some  of 
her  family  for  encouraging  her  elopement,  as  they 
coveted  her  prospective  wealth,  and  wished  to  get 
rid  of  her.  Only  to  my  father,  I  believe,  she 
mentioned  their  names,  she  so  disdained  their 
conduct. 

"Her  husband,  Charles  Stewart,  gave  half  his 
fortune  to  the  Revolutionary  Government,  and  so 
helped  to  impoverish  his  family,  as  they  never  re- 
ceived any  compensation  for  its  surrender.  My 
father,  I  have  been  told,  gave  the  ships  he  owned 
to  the  United  States  Government  in  the  war  of 
1812  with  Great  Britain,  and  received  no  remun- 
eration beyond  what  his  sword  brought  him. 
With  similar  devotion  to  a  yet  poor  country,  he 
never  urged  his  claims  to  large  amounts  of  prize- 
money,  including  those  for  the  capture  of  the  Le- 
vant and  several  British  merchantmen,  the  latter 
not  mentioned  in  his  life.  My  grandfather,  Wil- 
liam Tudor,  or  Judge  Tudor,  as  he  was  called, 
also  generously  spent  a  colossal  fortune  in  bene- 
fiting individuals,  the  public  of  Boston  and   its 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  301 

environs.  Both  sides  of  my  family  were  wealthy 
at  first,  and,  for  this  land  then,  immensely 
wealthy.  Therefore,  but  for  the  traits  mentioned, 
and  had  they  let  their  means  moderately  take  care 
of  themselves,  we  would  have  been  among  the 
richest  of  the  rich  in  this  rich  country.  How- 
ever, we  have  been  taken  care  of  by  a  wise 
Power,  and  their  descendants  have  never  been 
seen  begging  their  bread.  I  tell  the  story  that  it 
may  point  a  moral  and  adorn  a  tale. 

"My  father,  it  was  said  by  English  gentlemen 
visiting  this  country,  had  the  most  fascinating 
manners  of  any  gentleman  in  it  —  a  wide  asser- 
tion ;  for  none,  in  old  grand  grace,  urbanity,  wit, 
and  intelligence  united,  not  even  French  noblemen 
of  the  ancien  regime,  surpass  Southern  gentlemen 
in  these  States.  Bat  my  father  was  descended 
from  Irish  gentlemen,  under  the  hollow  of  whose 
feet  water  could  run  without  touching  them  ;  from 
a  race  that  even  in  the  poorest  looked  to  me,  a 
young  American  nurtured  among  great  men,  when 
I  first  landed  at  Kingstown,  as  one  and  all,  gentle- 
men at  ease,  as  they  lounged  about  with  their 
hands  in  their  pockets  to  keep  them  warm  and 
clean  while  looking  for  a  job.  If  it  is  true  that 
what  is  bred  in  the  bone  will  come  out  in  the 
breeding,  the  Irish  must  have  drunk,  in  better 
days,  of  congenial  Pierian  springs,  and,  for 
mother-milk,  sucked  honey  from  Hybla ;  for  no 
fustian  can   disguise,  no  hardship  obliterate,  the 


302  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

keen  intellect,  the  ready  wit,  the  noble  composure 
of  their  solid  substratum,  their  ancient  founda- 
tion. 

"A  brother  of  Mrs.  Segrave  (a  late  resident  in 
the  County  Wicklow) ,  while  he  was  a  middy  in 
the  Cyane  or  Levant,  was  in  great  terror  at  false 
stories  told  him  of  American  conquerors,  which 
my  father  noticing,  patted  the  little  fellow  on  the 
back,  and  told  him  to  fear  nothing.  My  father 
also  paroled  and  helped  home  the  crews  and  offi- 
cers of  those  two  ships. 

"  When  taking  some  prizes  into  Gibraltar  he  was 
vexed  by  Admiral  Lord  Carysfort's  sending  an  of- 
ficer to  one  of  them  to  investigate  their  business, 
but  the  officer  in  command  of  said  prize  threat- 
ened to  cut  the  first  man  down  who  stepped  on 
board.  My  father  afterwards  went  to  Portsmouth 
in  England  to  complain  of  Lord  Carysfort's  inter- 
ference, and  received  an  apology  from  the  Admi- 
rality.  One  of  my  kindest  friends  afterwards  was 
the  brother  of  the  said  Admiral.  Granville  Lev- 
eson,  Lord  Carysfort,  married  my  late  husband's 
aunt,  and  I  used  to  fight  my  father's  battles  over 
again  with  him  in  a  friendly  way,  though  argu- 
mentative. 

"  My  father  told  me  that  the  great  mistake  of 
his  life  had  been  not  valuing  my  mother  as  she  de- 
served ;  that  the  brilliancy  of  his  career  had  in  a 
great  measure  been  due  to  her,  and  through  her 
sympathies  and  influences  had  been  destined  to  be 


C.    S.    PAENELL,    M.  P.  303 

still  better  and  brighter.  She  knew  Latin  and 
Greek,  and  besides  fluently  spoke  French,  Ger- 
man, Italian,  and  Spanish.  Her  performance  on 
the  piano  was  famed  in  France,  England,  and 
America ;  her  oil  paintings  are  still  a  theme  for 
admiration ;  and  she  played  the  harp  exquisitely. 
Her  memory  of  history  in  particular  was  extraor- 
dinary, and  her  eloquence  overpowering.  A  lady 
said  to  me,  'Every  word  that  falls  from  her  mouth 
is  a  jewel.'  Her  soul  was  too  great  for  her  means 
and  her  sphere.  Her  exertions  to  serve  others 
knew  no  limits.  Many  owed  their  comfort,  their 
happiness,  their  existence  to  her  ;  for  her  purposes 
were  never  small,  her  efforts  never  weary.  She 
was  the  amanuensis  of  my  father  while  he  was  on 
the  Pacific  station,  and  wrote  his  French  and 
Spanish  letters.  He  said  to  me,  when  he  was 
nominated  for  the  Presidency  of  this  country,  that 
had  he  appreciated  my  mother's  abilities  in  time 
she  would  have  had  him  made  President  ten  years 
previously,  'for  she  could  do  anything  she  liked.' 
In  every  relation  of  life  my  mother  was  a  glowing 
example  of  every  virtue.  Her  filial  devotion  was 
mentioned  from  the  pulpit. 

"As  I  peruse  the  letters  of  different  members  of 
my  family  I  am  struck  by  their  far-sightedness 
and  accuracy  of  detail  and  judgment.  My  mother 
daily  evinced  a  penetration  almost  superhuman, 
and  a  prevision  that  seemed  prophetic.  But  as 
too  little  attention  is  often  paid  to  woman's  wit, 


304  C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P. 

notwithstanding  the  familiar  phrase  of  ?  mother- 
wit,'  she  was  often  compared  to  Cassandra  at  the 
siege  of  Troy.  I  can  conceive  nothing  more 
painful  to  human  feeling  than  as  a  woman  to  be 
compelled,  like  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  Jeru- 
salem, to  cry  fWo!  wo!'  and  yet  remain  un- 
heeded ;  and  I  believe  that  life  in  its  struggles, 
its  future,  is  in  tenderness  veiled  to  woman,  as  a 
rule ;  and  further,  that  so  she  seems  meant  to 
typify,  to  exemplify,  the  warmth  and  intelligence, 
the  hope  and  charity,  at  whose  pure  founts  the 
infant  man  may  be  nurtured,  strengthened,  and 
upheld  to  surmount  the  difficulties  that  chiefly 
beset  the  widest  sphere  of  action  —  from  whose 
purer  hands  he  may  depart  winged  for  a  double 
mission,  like  Mercury,  the  messenger  of  the  gods. 
Woman's  mission  is  chiefly  to  pity,  to  aid,  the 
feeble  and  the  suffering ;  and  in  her  sorrow  how 
wide  that  mission  may  become !  History  shows 
that,  for  good  or  evil,  often,  as  is  the  mother,  so 
is  the  son  ;  and  private  life  shows  too  often  that  as 
is  the  mother  for  nullity,  frivolity,  or  selfishness, 
so  is  the  son.  Many  a  man  who  would  respond 
on  some  angelic  mission  to  Beranger's  lines  — 

"  '  Plaignez  le  peuple,  il  souffre,  et  tout  grand  homme 
Aupres  du  peuple  est  l'envoye  de  Dieu' — 

has  surely  felt  and  acknowledged  a  mother's  sacred 
influence. 

"I   am   informed   that   the   name    Ford   is   of 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  305 

purely  Milesian  origin,  and  am  therefore  inclined 
to  think  that,  as  nothing  has  ever  done  so,  noth- 
ing ever  will  quench  the  ardor  and  pertinacity 
which  seem  inherent  in  all  my  children,  the 
power  to  struggle  and  to  overcome,  and  which 
succeeds  in  whatever  field  is  open  to  it  —  in 
whatever  the  hand  finds  to  do.  Let  us  hope  it 
may  be  accompanied  too  by  the  keen  vision  to  see 
the  open  door,  the  rift  in  the  cloud ;  by  the  faith 
to  behold,  while  yet  unseen,  the  blessings  that  lie 
buried,  but  germinating  for  a  greater  birth,  in  the 
Isle  of  Saints,  the  Isle  of  the  West,  the  isle  whose 
hope,  tried  and  purified  as  silver  in  the  fire,  but 
undimmed  still,  awaits  the  rising  sun  of  prosper- 
ity. 'To  everything  there  is  a  time.'  Some  one, 
some  sides  must  tire  first;  and  all  efforts,  if  not 
relinquished,  are  by  practice  made  perfect." 

The  Tudors  —  the  other  branch  of  Charles 
Stewart  ParnelPs  maternal  ancestry — have  a  his- 
tory full  of  interest.  They  were  of  Spanish  ori- 
gin, and  afterwards  settled  in  Wales,  whence 
divers  branches  of  the  family  pushed  out  into 
positions  of  prominence,  like  the  line  of  Tudor 
sovereigns  who  swayed  the  destinies  of  England 
so  extraordinarily  in  their  day.  The  first  of  the 
family  who  is  known  to  have  appeared  on  the 
American  shores  was  a  Colonel  Tudor,  an  officer 
in  the  British  army.  In  all  probability  he  went 
there  with  his  regiment,  helping  to  hold  the  colo- 
nies for  the  British  crown.     After  his  death,  his 


306  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

widow,  a  woman  of  high  spirit,  disagreeing  with 
her  late  husband's  relatives,  boldly  left  them, 
trusting  to  her  own  resources,  and  with  her  only 
son  John  repaired  to  Boston.  Good  looks  have 
long  been  a  noted  Tudor  characteristic.  Even 
Henry  the  Eighth,  before  he  became  bloated  and 
disfigured  by  sensuality,  is  said  to  have  had  a  mag- 
nificent presence.  The  John  Tudor  mentioned 
above  did  not  lack  the  family  speciality.  He  "  was 
noted  for  his  beauty,  grace,  gentlemanliness,  and 
accomplishments."  Probably  his  widowed  mother 
had  been  compelled h  from  want  of  means,  to  bring 
him  up  in  the  pinching  school  of  hardship,  and 
that  thus  he  acquired  a  close-fisted ness  foreign  to 
the  family  nature  and  habits.  Certain  it  is  that 
close  he  was,  notwithstanding  his  graces  of  form 
and  manner;  so  close  that  he  contrived  to  amass 
an  immense  fortune  at  a  time  when  the  British 
colonies  in  America,  through  lack  of  industries, 
offered  but  very  meagre  opportunities  for  fortune- 
building  to  even  the  clearest  commercial  heads. 
He  left  a  son  William  in  possession  of  his  wealth  ; 
and  this  William  Tudor,  revolting  from  the  ex- 
periences of  his  early  years,  and  as  if  in  protesta- 
tion against  the  niggardliness  so  long  beneath  his 
eyes,  spent  his  money  with  an  absolutely  "impe- 
rial benevolence  and  generosity." 

William  Tudor,  who  was  born  at  Boston  on  the 
28th  March,  1750,  studied  at  Harvard  College, 
and   graduated   in    1769,    was   a   splendid    man, 


0.    S.   PARNELL,   M.  P.  807 

physically  and  morally.  He  had  in  perfection 
what  was  called  "the  Tudor  eye" — "a  large,  bril- 
liant, dark-blue  eye."  He  possessed  at  once  the 
extremes  of  courage  and  tenderness,  and  was  as 
unselfish  as  he  was  clear-headed.  He  was  a  very 
accomplished  man,  and  a  fine  writer.  In  his 
young  manhood  he  studied  law,  under  the  cele- 
brated John  Adams  ;  but  the  study  did  not  ossify 
his  heart.  Even  while,  still  little  more  than  a  boy 
his  chosen  friends  were  among  the  best  and  hon- 
estest  of  his  contemporaries.  While  the  bloody 
quarrel  of  the  North  American  colonies  with  Great 
Britain  was  as  yet  looming  in  the  distance,  Wil- 
liam Tudor  had  for  bosom  companions  only  those 
who  misfht  be  counted  on  to  take  the  side  of  their 
native  country  against  the  foreign  crown.  One 
of  these  intimates  was  his  teacher  of  legal  lore, 
John  Adams,  who,  having  discovered  how  nig- 
gardly John  Tudor  was  in  supplying  money  to 
his  student  son,  wrote,  without  the  knowledge  of 
the  latter,  to  the  former,  appealing  to  him  to  give 
William  a  more  liberal  allowance,  to  help  his  ad- 
vancement in  life.  rf  \i'  your  son  were  infected 
with  the  follies  and  vices  so  fashionable  among 
many  of  the  young  gentlemen  of  our  age  and 
country,"  urged  Adams,  "I  would  never  become 
an  advocate  for  him,  without  his  knowledge,  as  I 
now  am,  with  his  father.  I  should  think,  the 
more  he  was  restrained,  the  better.  But  I  know 
him  to  have  a  clear  head,  and  an  honest,  faithful 


308  C.    S.    PAENELL,    M.  P. 

heart.  He  is  virtuous,  sober,  steady,  industrious, 
and  constant  in  his  office.  He  is  as  frugal  as  he 
can  be  in  his  rank  and  class  of  life,  without  being 
mean.  It  is  your  peculiar  felicity  to  have  a  son 
whose  behavior  and  character  are  thus  deserving." 

William  Tudor  was  admitted  to  the  Suffolk  bar 
on  the  27th  July,  1772.  He  had  but  little  time  to 
acquire  a  name  before  the  revolution  came.  He 
counted  on  his  list  of  intimates  some  of  the  most 
distinguished  patriots  of  the  day.  There  could  be 
but  one  side  in  the  strife  for  the  young  lawyer, 
and  that  side  was  his  country's.  Of  course  he 
might  have  acted  the  coward's  part,  and  remained 
neutral ;  but  he  had  come  of  a  strong  and  daring 
race,  and  with  their  hot  blood  surging  in  his  veins 
he  could  not  stand  idle  while  others  were  arming 
for  the  fray.  He  made  his  way  to  Bunkers  Hill, 
and,  as  a  volunteer,  took  part  in  the  action. 
After  the  retreat  of  the  American  insurgents  from 
that  hard-fought  field,  William  Tudor  joined  the 
army  in  a  regular  manner,  and  served  under  Gen- 
erals Lee  and  Washington.  The  latter  made  him 
his  aide-de-camp  —  a  fact  which  sufficiently  attests 
that  he  had  distinguished  himself  for  bravery  and 
coolness  in  the  hour  of  peril. 

There  was  a  tender  and  romantic  side  to  Wil- 
liam Tudor's  nature.  At  the  very  time  that  the 
insurrection  began,  and  indeed  for  a  considerable 
period  before  that,  he  was  ardently  attached  to  a 
young  lady  named  Delia  Jarvis,  whose  sympathies 


C.    S.    PARNEI.L,    M.  P.  3C9 

were  entirely  with  the  royalists.  He  spent  seven 
years  in  striving  to  induce  her  to  accept  him. 
Mrs.  Parnell  writes  of  her:  — 

"She  had  romantic  ideas  of  feminine  character, 
which  she  always  maintained.  Her  strongly 
aesthetic  tastes  led  her  to  prefer  courtly  circles , 
and  her  gentle,  indulgent  disposition  to  deprecate 
wars,  and  long  for  a  compromise.  Nevertheless 
she  was  considered  to  be  a  loyalist,  and  showed 
considerable  spirit  as  such.  For  instance,  when 
Boston  opinion  was  all  aflame  about  the  tea  ques- 
tion she  gave  a  tea-party.  Whoever  used  this 
herb  was  considered  a  foe  to  the  country,  and  a 
rigid  inquisition  and  vigilance  were  maintained  to 
prevent  its  use,  A  sprig  of  tea,"  Mrs.  Parnell 
continues,  "might  be  our  national  emblem,  for  its 
familiar  shape  involved  then  a  principle  soon  to 
be  combated  by  open  war." 

The  young  lady's  loyalist  feelings,  however,  did 
not  always  go  unhurt.  In  her  son  William's  Life 
of  Otis  the  following  passage  referring  to  her 
occurs  :  — 

"After  the  battle  [of  Bunker's  Hill],  a  young 
person  living  in  Boston,  possessed  of  very  keen 
and  generous  feelings,  bordering  a  little  perhaps 
on  the  romantic,  as  was  natural  to  her  age,  sex, 
and  lively  imagination,  finding  that  many  of  the 
wounded  [American]  troops  brought  over  from 
the  field  of  ac'ion  were  carried  by  her  residence, 
mixed  a  quantity  of  refreshing  beverage,  and,  with 


310  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

a  female  domestic  by  her  side,  stood  at  the  door 
and  offered  it  to  the  sufferers  as  they  were  borne 
along,  burning  with  fever  and  parched  with  thirst. 
Several  of  these,  grateful  for  her  kindness,  gave 
her,  as  they  thought,  consolation,  by  assuring  her 
of  the  destruction  of  [the  British].  One  young 
officer  said,  ? Never  mind  it,  my  brave  young 
lady;  we  have  peppered  'em  well,  depend  on  it!' 
Her  dearest  feelings  were  thus  unintentionally 
lacerated,  while  she  was  pouring  oil  and  wine  into 
their  wounds." 

Courting  this  lady  under  the  circumstances  was 
no  easy  task  for  one  whom,  while  her  sympathies 
went  out  to  him  as  a  man,  her  prejudices  taught 
her  to  regard  as  a  criminal  because  of  his  having 
become  "a  rebel  to  his  sovereign.''  Court  her, 
however,  and  persistently  too,  he  did.  He  kept 
up  a  correspondence  with  her  during  the  war,  as 
full  as  opportunity  permitted,  usually  beginning 
his  long  letters  with  "Mfy  fair  loyalist,"  and  end- 
ing them  with  "Your  devoted  rebel" — a  mode  of 
address  calculated  to  laugh  her  prejudices  away. 
Nor  was  he  satisfied  to  confine  himself  to  episto- 
lary pleadings.  In  spite  of  dangers  and  difficulties 
he  contrived  to  meet  her.  In  Drake's  "  Historic 
Fields  and  Mansions  of  Middlesex"  the  following 
passage  occurs  :  — 

"His  courtship  of  the  lady  who  afterwards  be- 
came his  wife  was  prosecuted  under  very  roman- 
tic circumstances.     By  the   hostilities  which   had 


C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P.  311 

broken  out  he  was  separated  from  the  object  of 
his  affections,  who  was  residing  on  Noddles  Island 
(East  Boston),  in  the  family  of  Henry  Howell 
Williams.  The  British  fleet  which  lay  off  the 
island  rendered  it  dangerous  to  approach  it  in  a 
boat.  A  boyish  acquisition  was  now  of  use  to 
the  gallant  colonel.  He  wras  an  excellent  swim- 
mer. Tying  his  clothes  in  a  bundle  on  his  head, 
he,  like  another  Leander,  swam  the  strait  between 
the  island  and  the  main,  paid  his  visit,  and  re- 
turned the  way  he  came.  It  is  related  of  Colonel 
Tudor  that  when  a  boy,  being  on  a  visit  aboard 
an  English  line-of-battle  ship  in  Boston  harbor, 
the  conversation  turned  on  swimming.  Tudor 
proposed  to  jump  from  the  taffrail  rail  —  which  in 
ships  of  that  time  was  at  a  considerable  height 
from  the  water — if  any  one  would  do  the  same. 
A  sailor  accepted  the  challenge.  The  boy  took 
the  leap,  but  the  man  was  afraid  to  follow." 

In  the  end  the  colonel's  wooing  prospered.  The 
most  bigoted  8 fair  loyalist"  that  ever  was  could 
not  go  on  for  years  receiving  letters  signed  "your 
devoted  rebel "  from  a  man  to  whom  she  was  really 
attached  without  suffering  a  considerable  abatement 
of  her  devotion  to  her  sovereign.  Further,  Miss 
Jarvis  had  an  innate  honor  of  war ;  and  it  was 
but  natural  that  during  the  colonel's  long  absence 
she  should  torture  herself  with  dreadful  imagin- 
ings of  what  might  happen  to  him  at  any  moment. 
So  she  put  an  end  to  her  torments  by  deserting 


312  C.    S.    PAKNELL,    M.  F. 

from  the  royalists,  and  going  over  to  the  enemy's 
camp,  joined  her  life  and  fortunes  with  Colonel 
Tudor's. 

Honors  showered  on  Colonel  William.  He  was 
appointed  Judge-Advocate-General  of  Washing- 
ton's army,  and  held  a  military  position  equal  to 
that  of  general.  He  presided  over  the  courts- 
martial  at  Cambridge  after  Washington's  arrival 
there.  In  his  position  of  Judge-Advocate-Gen- 
eral, his  legal  training  and  abilities  gave  him 
great  advantages  over  mere  military  men  ;  and 
these  he  employed  with  success  in  defence  of 
many  an  accused  one.  In  especial,  a  Colonel 
Henley,  who  was  charged  with  unmilitary  conduct 
towards  British  prisoners  in  his  care,  had  reason 
to  be  grateful  to  the  Advocate-General.  We 
read :  ft  Henley  owed  his  acquittal  mainly  to  the 
exertions  of  Colonel  Tudor  in  his  behalf.  The 
evidence  showed  that  the  prisoner  had  acted 
under  great  provocation ;  but  what  most  influ- 
enced the  result  was  the  startling  testimony  ad- 
duced of  the  mutinous  spirit  prevalent  among  the 
British  soldiers." 

When  the  war  was  over,  and  the  colonel's 
sword  sheathed,  he  returned  to  Boston,  and  to 
the  practice  of  his  profession,  wherein  he  achieved 
a  reputation  as  "  an  eminent  counsellor."  He  be- 
came a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
of  Massachusetts,  and  afterwards  of  the  Senate. 
He  held  the  high  office  of  Secretary  of  State  in 


C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P.  313 

1809  and  1810.  He  was  appointed  Vice-Presi- 
dent of  the  Cincinnati  of  Massachusetts  in  1816, 
and  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society,  in  whose  "Collections"  appears 
an  extended  memoir  of  him.  He  was  an  elegant 
and  a  spirited  public  speaker,  and  his  talents  in 
this  line,  as  in  others,  we  e  frequently  drawn  on 
by  his  fellow-citizens  of  Boston.  He  paid  a  visit 
to  Europe  and  saw  the  state  of  Ireland  with  his 
own  eyes.  Mrs.  Parncll  says  of  him:  —  "I  have 
many  charming  letters  of  my  grandfather,  in  one 
of  which  he  forcibly  condemns  from  Ireland  the 
British  government  there.  His  letters  are  a  won- 
derful exemplification  of  his  excellence  and  at- 
tractiveness as  a  father,  son,  and  husband.  He 
begins  one  letter  to  his  wife  with  'My  truest 
friend ; '  and  ends  it,  ?I  must  cease  to  feel  and  to 
reflect  ere  I  cease  to  love  and  to  admire  yon.' 
John  Adams  and  Judge  Tudor  kept  up  a  long 
and  interesting  correspondence  —  a  very  valuable 
one,  being  especially  on  political  subjects  of  the 
day.  In  John  Adams'  works,  edited  by  a  de- 
scendant of  his,  his  letters  to  Judge  Tudor  are 
published."  The  judge  died  on  the  8th  of  July, 
1819. 

"Miss  Peabody,  the  sister  of  Mrs.  Nathaniel 
Hawthorne,  wrote  a  beautiful  account  of  my 
grandmother,"  Mrs.  Parnell  says.  "In  it  she 
mentions  my  grandmother's  resolution  to  do  or 
say  something  to  contribute  to  the  happiness  of 


314  C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P. 

each  one  she  daily  met ;  and  her  learning  Spanish 
at  the  age  of  seventy.  Through  her  letters  in 
Spanish  she  procured  from  General  Tacon  the 
monopoly  of  the  ice-trade  in  Cuba  for  her  son 
Frederic.  She  read,  wrote,  and  mended  fine 
lace,  without  spectacles,  to  ninety-two  years  of 
age.  Her  poetry  was  very  fine.  One  day,  my 
mother,  coming  in  with  the  Washington  National 
Intelligencer y  said:  ?I  have  found  a  rare  thing  — 
a  fine  piece  of  poetry  in  the  newspaper,'  and  read 
out,  to  my  grandmother's  surprise,  a  piece  by  her- 
self on  a  Fourth  of  July  oration,  by  John  Quincy 
Adams,  at  the  Capitol,  where  several  old  revolu- 
tionary soldiers  were  present.  My  mother  was 
delighted  to  learn  that  her  own  mother  wrote  it. 
The  latter  was  descended  from  some  of  the  ad- 
venturous Puritans  who  sought  this  shelter,  and 
the  name  Delia  was  originally  Deliverance.  She 
is  mentioned  in  Comte  de  Segur's  memoirs.  Her 
home  in  Boston,  wherein  her  two  beautiful  and 
accomplished  daughters  did  the  honors,  was 
the  rendezvous  of  all  the  French  officers  stationed 
near.  She  addressed  some  fine  verses  hi  French 
to  Marie  Antoinette,  which  were  acknowledged 
by  the  latter. 

"Of  her  two  daughters,  Emma  married  Robert 
Hallowell  Gardiner,  of  Oaklands,  Gardiner, 
Maine;  and  Delia  married  Commodore  Charles 
Stewart,  of  the  United  States  Navy.  Emma  had 
the  splendid  Tudor  eye,  and  her  mother's  delicate 


C.    S.    PARNELL,    M.  P.  315 

complexion,  auburn  hair,  and  exquisite  figure. 
Delia,  my  mother,  had  the  Norman  combination 
of  fine,  curling,  coal-black  hair,  blue  eyes,  and  a 
complexion  like  a  tinted  rose-leaf.  She  was  tall, 
and  remarkable  for  fine-cut  regular  features,  sym- 
metry, grace,  and  a  dignity  and  elegance  of  car- 
riage that  were  truly  regal." 

Besides  his  two  daughters,  Judge  Tudor  left 
two  sons,  William  and  Frederic,  both  very  re- 
markable men.  William,  the  eldest,  had  a 
strongly  intellectual  bent  of  nature.  While 
almost  an  infant  he  had  imbibed  his  mother's 
horror  of  war,  and  if  any  one  sang  in  his  pres- 
ence the  once  popular  song,  "Oh,  what  a  glorious 
thing's  a  battle!  drums  a-beating,  colors  flying," 
he  would  burst  out  a-sobbing.  Ordinarily,  how- 
ever, he  was  a  bright-witted  and  lively  little  boy. 
When  about  three  years  of  age  he  climbed  on  to 
the  table  after  a  dinner-party,  and  was  engaged 
in  draining  the  wine-glasses  when  the  black  but- 
ler of  the  family  discovered  him.  To  disarm  the 
negro's  wrath  the  little  fellow  seized  a  glass  and 
cried,  "Your  health,  Mr.  Pompey  ! "  so  much  in 
the  fashion  of  his  elders  that  the  butler  did  no 
more  than  grin.  From  Blake's  and  Drake's 
(American)  Biographical  Dictionaries  the  follow- 
ing memoir  of  William  Tudor  has  been  com- 
piled :  — 

"Tudor,  William,  scholar  and  diplomatist,  was 
born  at  Boston,  the  28th  of  January,  1779.     He 


316  C.    S.    PARNELL,  M.  P. 

graduated  at  Harvard  College  with  distinguished 
honor  in  1796 ;  and  soon  after  visited  Europe  for 
the  improvement  of  his  mind.  He  was  an  ob- 
servant traveller,  and  treasured  up  for  future  use 
a  vast  and  varied  fund  of  information  and  anec- 
dote. He  returned  to  his  native  country  with  an 
ardent  desire  for  the  improvement  of  his  fellow- 
citizens  in  arts  and  literature.  He  was  the  pro- 
jector and  first  editor  of  the  North  American 
Review"  —  the  same  distinguished  periodical  in 
the  April  1880  number  of  which  appears  his  rela- 
tive Charles  Stewart  ParnelPs  splendid  paper  on 
the  Irish  land  question — w  which  Review  has  since 
become  identified  with  the  best  literature  of  our 
country.  In  whatever  Mr.  Tudor  undertook  he 
had  a  single  eye  to  the  intellectual  advancement 
of  his  countrymen.  No  man  in  public  life  was 
ever  more  distinguished.  When  a  member  of  the 
legislature  of  Massachusetts,  he  proposed  many 
plans  in  aid  of  his  favorite  object ;  but  they  met 
with  opposition  from  those  who,  though  they  re- 
spected his  motives,  considered  him  a  visionary. 
Several  of  his  projects  have,  however,  since  been 
accomplished,  and  in  the  very  manner  that  he  first 
suggested.  For  two  years  he  wrote  all  the  first 
Images  of  the  North  American  Review  himself. 
According  to  himself,  he  wrote  the  whole  of  the 
first  number,  even  to  the  notices,  etc.,  in  it.  He 
had  previously  aided  in  founding  the  Anthology 
Club,  publishing  his  European  Letters  in  their 


O.    S.    PAKNELL,    M.  P.  317 

magazine,  the  Monthly  Anthology,  begun  in  No- 
vember, 1803,  continued  until  1811,  and  sup- 
ported by  the  best  pens  in  Boston.  In  November, 
1805,  he  founded  the  ice-traffic  in  tropical  climes 
as  the  agent  of  his  brother  Frederic,  which  has 
grown  to  be  an  important  branch  of  commerce  ; 
and  he  was  afterwards  engaged  in  other  commer- 
cial transactions  in  Europe,  requiring  ability  and 
address.  Mr.  Tudor  was  the  originator  of  the 
present  Bunker's  Hill  Monument,  and  one  of 
the  founders  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum  in  1807. 
In  1823  he  was  named  consul  at  Lima,  Peru; 
and  in  1827  was  appointed  charge  d'affaires  tit  the 
court  of  Brazil,  where  he  negotiated  a  treaty,  the 
last  of  his  public  works.  Mr.  Tudor  acquired 
the  personal  affection  of  the  Emperor,  and  the 
respect  and  admiration  of  the  carps  diplomatique. 
His  character  as  a  literary  man  and  an  accom- 
plished gentleman  had  preceded  him  ;  and  it  was 
well  observed  that  his  country  was  honored  in 
such  a  representative.  Besides  his  contributions 
to  several  periodicals,  and  his  critiques  in  the 
y~orth  American  Review,  he  published  f  A  Dis- 
course before  the  Humane  Society,'  1817;  'Let- 
ters on  the  Eastern  States,'  1820;  'Miscellane- 
ous,' 1821;  'Life  of  James  Otis,'  1823;  '  Gebel 
Teir,'  1828.  He  died  at  Rio  Janeiro,  the  9th  of 
March,  1830."  He  was  only  in  his  fifty-fourth 
year  then ;  and  he  succumbed  to  an  illness  which 
had  its  origin  a  great  many  years  before  in  an  act 


818  C.    S.    PARN&LL,   M.  I\ 

of  kindly  humanity,  when,  travelling  in  Germany, 
and  seeing  a  soldier's  wife  with  her  infant  on  the 
outside  of  the  coach  at  night  in  a  storm  of  rain, 
he  gave  his  own  inside  place  to  the  poor  woman 
and  child,  and  took  her  outside  one  himself.  The 
climax  of  his  disease  was  brought  about  by  labo- 
rious journeys,  on  foot  as  well  as  on  horseback, 
into  the  wild  and  mountainous  interior  of  Brazil. 
Mrs.  Parnell  writes  of  him  :— • 

"Lord  Ponsonby,  one  of  his  colleagues  at  the 
court  of  Dom  Pedro  the  First,  said  that  such  was 
my  uncle  William  Tudor's  humane  and  judicious 
advice,  and  such  the  influence  he  exerted  over  the 
Emperor,  who  consulted  him  on  all  occasions,  that 
had  he  lived,  the  Emperor  never  would  have  lost 
his  throne.  A  succeeding  consul  told  me  that 
my  uncle  William's  beauty  and  nobility  of  form 
and  feature  made  a  never-forgotten  impression  on 
him.  He  thought  he  had  never  seen  any  one  so 
handsome.  He  resembled  my  mother.  This 
consul  also  related  to  me  the  first  act  of  my  uncle 
on  coming  aboard  the  ship  where  this  future  con- 
sul was  —  an  act  which  in  its  simplicity  and  great- 
ness seemed  fitly  to  accompany  his  appearance. 
The  mate  of  the  vessel  had  died  on  board,  leaving 
his  widow  and  orphaned  children  at  Callao,  Peru. 
My  uncle  spontaneously  and  immediately  gave 
them  a  home  in  his  house,  until  they  could  be 
comfortably  sent  to  their  own  home  and  friends. 
How  few  consuls  thus  treat  their  exiled  country- 


C.   S.    PAKNELL,    M.  P.  819 

men  !  I  remember  the  terrible  grief  and  desola- 
tion of  my  mother's  heart  and  home  when  the 
news  of  his  death  reached  us  at  Washington. 
The  diplomatic  corps  there  called  to  condole  with 
my  poor  mother.  Congress  had  his  very  remark 
able  diplomatic  correspondence  published —  for 
use  and  enjoyment  both." 

Of  her  uncle,  Frederic  Tudor,  brother  of  the 
William  above  noticed,  and  whose  genius  lay 
more  in  the  commercial  line,  Mrs.  Parnell  sup- 
plies the  information  subjoined  :  — 

"Through  gigantic  endeavors,  though  often 
frustrated,  he  succeeded  in  restoring  his  family 
fortunes  and  the  prestige  of  the  Tudors  for 
wealth.  Ho  discovered  how  to  preserve  ice  for 
long  journeys,  and  conceived  the  idea  that  the 
chief  staple  of  New  England  —  viz.,  ice  —  should 
be  a  chief  source  of  profit ;  and  he  gathered  a 
harvest  of  precious  metal  from  frozen  waters. 
The  ice  he  sent,  especially  to  the  East  Indies,  has 
preserved  many  a  life.  He  received  specially 
handsome  acknowledgments  of  his  services  from 
the  East  Indies. 

"Some  of  the  agents  in  the  West  Indies  not  at 
first  succeeding,  he  chartered  a  vessel,  freighted 
it  with  ice,  and  sailed  in  it  himself  to  the  West 
Indies.  I  have  seen  a  letter  written  then  by  his 
tender  and  terrified  mother,  expressing  her  fears 
lest  the  ice  should  melt  on  the  voyage  and  the 
vessel  be  capsized.     But  he  went;  and,  like  the 


320  C.    S.    PARNELL,   M.  P. 

farmer  in  the  fable,  immediately  prospered  by  at- 
tending to  his  business  himself. 

"He  was  remarkable  for  his  wrt  and  tor  his 
strong  character,  which  made  him,  while  very 
droll,  very  incisive  in  his  speech,  and  very  forci- 
ble in  his  views.  He  had  the  peculiar  beauty  of 
the  family  then  —  black  hair,  blue  eyes,  a  fine 
figure,  a  high  broad  forehead,  and  regular  feat- 
ures. At  his  fine  place  at  Nahant  he  made  prize 
peaches  grow  on  a  rock  just  over  the  sea,  and 
discovered  how  to  prevent  them  being  injured  by 
the  salt  in  the  atmosphere  while  they  received  the 
full  advantage  of  the  air.  His  letters  are  very 
entertaining.  So  also  are  the  letters  of  his  sister, 
my  aunt  Emma.  I  remember  particularly  her 
poetical  expressions ;  and  a  line  in  one  of  her  let- 
ters, while  I  was  a  child,  when,  describing  a  place 
she  was  in,  she  wrote,  'The  frogs  croak  a  bass  to 
the  whistling  wind.' " 


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